Lobos Sweep MW Men's Tennis Honors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One set of matches, one sweep of Mountain West Awards. Hard to top that one.
The Mountain West has announced that sophomore Arda Azkara and freshman Nikolay Sysoev have been named the league’s Athlete of the Week and Freshman of the Week for their efforts in leading UNM to the title of the inaugural Jack Kennedy Classic at UNM.
Azkara, the league’s Co-Freshman of the Year last season, opened up the spring a perfect 3-0. We won his only doubles match that finished (he was leading 5-3 in the other when it was halted) and he won both of his matches at No. 1 singles. On Friday against UT Arlington, his 7-5, 6-4 win over Anton Shepp clinched the season opening win, giving UNM a 4-1 lead on the way to a 5-2 victory.
He came back on Sunday and exacted revenge against Gonzaga’s Sasha Trkulja. Azkara, who lost to Trkulja last year at No. 1 singles, this time raced past him 6-4, 6-1, giving UNM a 2-1 lead on the way to a 5-2 win.
For Sysoev, he hadn’t played in the fall individual season or in the opener, but he was slotted into the No. 3 singles spot against Gonzaga, and he gave UNM a 3-1 lead with a strong 6-4, 6-2 in his first career collegiate match.
The Lobos have the weekend off before heading south to Las Cruces to play New Mexico State on February 4.