ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The Lobos made another game effort against a ranked opponent, and in the end earned a split at the 2026 Jack Kennedy Classic. The Lobos dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 71 Denver before bouncing back with a 4-0 win over Lubbock Christian to earn a split on the day.
Both matches took a while, as the doubleheader spanned just under seven hours on a breezy, somewhat chilly afternoon.
In the opener, UNM and Denver went to the wire in doubles. Denver struck first, winning 6-3 for Aaron Bedihn and Raddaello Papajcik over Philip Bosin and Dario Ciobotaru, a match in which the Lobos saved three match points before ultimately falling. UNM then tied it up with a 6-4 win for Tyler Waddock and Connor Dils.
That left things to No. 1 doubles, where UNM's Jakub Prachar and Alberto Perez went to a tiebreak against Theo Coats and Connor Robb-Wilcox. In the tiebreak, which came after each team held serve for the entirety of the match, the Lobos suffered a mini break on the opening serve, and then fell behind 3-0 and eventually 5-1.
After a changeover, UNM got two points back to creep within 5-3, but that was as close as they would get, with Denver taking the doubles point with the tiebreak 7-3.
In singles, the No. 71 Pioneers got three straight-set wins to clinch a 4-1 win. UNM's lone win was at No. 4 as Perez won 7-5, 6-1 over Ryoma Mishiro. UNM's Ciobotaru has a 7-6 (8-6), 4-2 lead at No. 1, and Bosin was headed to a third set at No. 2 when the match ended, meaning if either Jakub Prachar, Tyler Waddock, or Connor Dils could have held on, things would have been very interesting.
However, doubleheader tennis is an interesting beast, allowing for redemption in short order, and that is just what Prachar, Waddock, and Dils got in the nightcap.
UNM took a thriller in doubles, winning the take-it-all No. 1 doubles match 6-4, with Pracher and Perez winning. That gave UNM a 1-0 lead heading into singles, and the three who lost in singles to Denver all won, giving UNM the split.
Waddock for a 6-1, 6-2 win over Jordan Georgiev to make it 2-0, and Dils won his second match of the season at No. 6, takinga 6-4, 6-3 win over Hayden Loffler for a 3-0 lead.
That left it to Prachar, who was leading in his match, and he took a second-set tiebreaker for a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win to give the Lobos the split.
The Lobos (4-9) travel to New Orleans to open Spring Break week with matches against New Orleans on Monday, March 16, and Tulane on Wednesday, March 18.
NOTES: Ciobotaru's matches at No. 1 singles were both unfinished, meaning UNM's home winning streak at No. 1 singles remained at 28, having last lost over four years ago (1/23/22 to Utah) ... Waddock's win at No. 5 singles was UNM's first of the season in that flight.