Lobos Blitz NMSU in Singles for 6-1 Win
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — No doubles point? No problem. No problem at all.
Whatever hope was budding in New Mexico State’s men’s tennis team after taking a surprising 1-0 lead after doubles was quickly vanquished by a stellar singles performance in which UNM took all 12 singles sets. That led to a quick finish as New Mexico stayed undefeated on the year, moving to 3-0 with a 6-1 victory over New Mexico State.
The win gave UNM a 94-11 all-time lead in the series that dates back to pre-World War II.
That NMSU took the doubles point was a surprise, as they had dropped it in each of their first four matches, and UNM was 2-0 in doubles. However, UNM altered its lineup a tad. UNM went with Aram Noroozian and Ryoma Matsushita at No. 3, and they picked up a 6-2 win over Luca Fe D’ostiani and Italy Feigin. However, that was all UNM got. Arda Azkara was teamed up Georgio Samaha for the first time, and they lost 6-4 to Yehor Opanasenko and Jordy Vissar at No. 2.
At No. 1, UNM had its usual top pairing of Jan Pucalka and Alex Maggs, but they pair, who entered with eight wins together, couldn’t get a ninth. They lost 6-3 to Corey Clarke and Roko Stipetic at No. 1, giving the Aggies a 1-0 lead, and some hope for an upset.
UNM quickly dashed those hopes. UNM breezed in the opening sets up and down the lineup, with three matches going either 6-1 or 6-2. Those opening set wins put UNM in the driver’s seat, and UNM never took its foot off the pedal. Maggs bounced back from his doubles loss to officially tie the match at 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Opanasenko at No. 6. That was quickly followed to a finish by Samaha, who won his team-best 10th singles match 6-2, 6-2 over D’ostiani at No. 5 singles.
From there, it was a race to the finish. Nikolay Sysoev, in just his second collegiate match, moved up to No. 2 singles and made it 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Visser. Azkara officially clinched the win with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles over Clarke. Azkara ran his record to 3-0 at No. 1 in the spring, and it marked his second clinching victory of the season.
Aram Noroozian then picked up his first spring win, taking No. 3 singles 6-4, 6-1 over Feigin. The last match on the table was Matsushita, who finished off Stipetic 6-4, 7-6 to giving UNM all 12 sets in singles.
The Lobos return home for a few days before heading out on the road to take on BYU and Utah. UNM will face the Cougars Friday at 11 am in Provo before moving to Salt Lake City for a match with the Utah Utes on Saturday at 10 am.
NOTES: Azkara and Matsushita both improved to 3-0 in the spring dual season … UNM is 3-0 in the No. 3 doubles slot, using two different teams.