SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- One returns, a different one gets injured. Such is the luck of UNM men's tennis, which welcomed a banged-up Jan Skerbatis back to the singles lineup, but missed Tyler Waddock, who got hurt before the match, as UNM lost 4-0 in a match where the Lobos were in it on the other three courts.
The win guaranteed San Diego State the 2-seed in the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas, where they will face No. 7, Air Force. UNM was locked into the 6-seed, and they will face Boise State, the 3-seed, on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific, 6 p.m. Mountain.
The Lobos lost to Boise State 4-3 in a tightly contested match a few weeks ago.
In doubles, SDSU jumped to a 1-0 lead with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Jakub Prachar and Alberto Perez were up 5-3 when doubles was halted.
In singles, the Aztecs got straight set wins at Nos. 1, 2, and 6 for the 4-0 win. Skerbatis, playing his first conference singles match, was leading in the third set at the half. Perez was also in a third set, down a break, and Prachar was up one set, meaning that had UNM held on somewhere or taken doubles, UNM would have been in the match.
The Mountain West Tournament, which starts on Wednesday, April 22, at the Darlin Tennis Center in Las Vegas, will feature a rematch of last year's Mountain West title tilt, which UNM won in a 4-0 sweep of the Boise State Broncos.