NEW ORLEANS, La. --- Dario Ciobotaru clinched both the doubles point and then the match with a singles win at No. 1 as the Lobos defeated New Orleans 4-0 in a match delayed 24 hours by winds.
The Lobos moved to 5-9 and won their second straight, while New Orleans, the defending Southland champs, dropped to 8-7.
The real drama was in doubles, as Jakub Prachar and Alberto Perez won easily 6-1 at No. 1 for the first half of the doubles point. After Connor Dils and Tyler Waddock lost 7-5, it came down to No. 3, and Ciobotaru and Philip Bosin went to a tiebreaker after failing on a match point at 6-5 and deuce.
In the tiebreaker, the Lobo tandem fought off four match points before prevailing 11-9 to give UNM a 1-0 lead, and the squad cruised from there. Prachar won 6-3, 6-34 at No. 5, and Perez won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 for a 3-0 lead. Ciobotaru closed it out with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 for the 4-0 win.
The three matches that were abandoned were tight affairs with Bosin down a set after a tiebreaker but up early in a second, 7-6 (7-3), 0-1. Tyler Waddock was even at 4-6, 6-2, 2-2, and Dils was down 6-4, 4-4, pushing for a third set.
The Lobos stay put and take on Tulane at noon on Wednesday.