LUBBOCK, Texas --- In a match filled with tiebreakers, the Lobos couldn't quite win enough of those as UNM fell 4-3 to Louisiana in a very tight, even match on the campus of Texas Tech. UNM and the Red Raiders face off tomorrow.
Overall, the match featured five three-set singles contests, and seven sets overall (five in singles, two in doubles) went to tiebreakers. The tiebreaker loss in doubles was crushing as UNM was in a pair of them after dropping No. 3 doubles 6-4. Jakub Prachar and Alberto Perez lost 7-6 (7-5) while UNM's No. 2 pairing of Tyler Waddock and Connor Dils were sitting at 2-2 in their tiebreaker.
In singles, Louisiana went up 2-0 with the only straight-set match, a 6-3, 6-3 win for Gianluca Filoramo over Dils. The other five singles matches went down to the wire. UNM took wins in the top three slots. to tie the match at 3-3.
Ciobotaru won 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), winning the final six points of the tiebreaker after trailing 4-1. Bosin won 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 at No. 2 singles, continuing his breakout season, and Jakub Prachar won in a nice comeback, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.
UNM needed either No. 4 or No. 5 singles, but couldn't close it out. Alberto Perez, who won a first-set tiebreaker, lost a third-set tiebreaker as Ciobotaru was winning, tying the match at three. Waddock couldn't get over the hump against Nikola Kolyachev, losing 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), missing out on chances to clinch, up 5-4 and 6-5 in the third.