Lobos Nipped 4-3 by Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It wasn’t quite as exciting, but New Mexico dropped a 4-3 decision to Utah to end its season-opening four-match winning streak.  UNM got three singles wins but a loss in the doubles point loomed large in the end.

The doubles point for the first time this season was one in which UNM didn’t fare well, losing at No. 1 and 3 by scores of 6-1 (with Alex Maggs and Jan Pucalka at No. 1 and Rafael Abdulsalam and Georgio Samaha at No. 3), and trailing 5-2 at No. 2 doubles (Adra Azkara and Aram Noroozian).

From there, Utah took the first of three singles matches to officially clinch the match, and it was a good thing for the Utes as UNM, much like yesterday, would throw another comeback in the Beehive State, winning the last three singles matches.

Utah pushed it to 2-0 when Patrick Trhac handed Ryoma Matsushita his first loss of the spring 6-1, 6-1.  Franco Capalbo handled Abdulsalam 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 and Geronimo Busleiman did likewise to Arda Azkara at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-4.  Down 4-0, UNM’s Aram Noroozian, who got the comback started yesterday in a 4-3 win over BYU, got it going again.  Noroozian played well early and late, sandwiching a 6-2 second set loss around a 6-3 opening set and a 6-2 final set win, giving him a third straight victory and putting UNM on the board.

Samaha, who clinched the win yesterday, also had a three-set thriller, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.  That left Nikolay Sysoev at No. 3 singles as the final match, and he came through, bouncing back from an opening set 6-4 loss to win the second in a tie break 7-6 (7-4) and then a 10-point third set tiebreaker 10-5 to make the final 4-3.

UNM is off next weekend before heading to Tempe for the Arizona State Tournament.