Lobos Race Past Rival NMSU 4-2

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- Dario Ciobotaru came through once again, getting a second-set tiebreaker win at No. 1 singles 9-7 as the Lobos ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over rival New Mexico State. The match was UNM’s final non-conference match of the season.

Ciobotaru’s win kept alive UNM’s wild unbeaten streak at No. 1 singles at home. UNM has now won 30 straight since its last home loss at No. 1 singles, which was January 23, 2022.

The Lobos had a lineup change for the first time in weeks as Jan Skerbatis came off injury, and UNM shuffled the lineups. What didn’t change was Alberto Perez and Jakub Prachar winning in doubles, clinching the point with a 6-4 win at No. 1 over Roko Stipetic and Tobias Wallin.

UNM shuffled the rest of the doubles, and Ciobotaru and Connor Dils turned in a terrific performance with a 6-0 win at No. 2 over Laurendi Fischer and Patrick Lohmann.

In singles, UNM fell behind 2-1 as Skerbatis reaggravated his injury and retired after losing the first set 6-1 to Lance Urlaub at No. 5. Lohmann beat Dils 6-1, 6-1 to make it 2-1, but that was all NMSU was getting.

Ciotobaru, Philip Bosin, Perez, and Prachar all won their opening sets, putting UNM in the driver’s seat, and it was a matter of time to see how those matches would end.

Bosin, one of two Albuquerque natives in the lineup, won 6-2, 6-1 over Holland Snell to even the score at 2-2. Prachar then won 7-5, 7-4 over Stipetic to make it 3-2, and all that was left was Ciobotaru in his tiebreaker with Wallin.

Each player won on his serve over the first six points before a Wallin overhead smash made it 4-3, but he double-faulted back-to-back to give Ciobotaru a 5-4 lead. Wallin got both points right back and had set point on serve, but Wallin hit long, and the players swapped sides for a second time.

Wallin took another point for a 7-6 lead, giving him a second set point, and again Ciobotaru came through. First, he rushed the net and hit a deft drop shot that Wallin couldn’t reach to keep things going at 7-7. Then, he forced Wallin long and had a match point. Unlike his opponent, Ciobotaru cashed in on the first attempt.

Wallin served, and Ciobotaru hit a forehand slice that Wallin mishit, giving the Lobo a 9-7 lead and a 4-2 UNM victory.