The UNM men's tennis team peeked its head above the .500 mark Friday with a 5-2 win against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock at the Lobo Tennis Club.
The Lobos improved to 5-4 on the season after winning four of the six singles matches.
Head coach Alan Dils said the win is evidence that the Lobos are starting to come together.
"The team is starting to have faith in each guy, in each position, and they're starting to believe," Dils said. "It really helps to know that you can step up against anybody in the nation and play with them, and all the guys up and down the line are doing that know."
The Lobos began quickly, taking the doubles point by winning all three matches.
The number one team of Michael Polasek and Bart Scott got off to a fast start, leading 6-1, before allowing the Trojans' Luciano Diez and Alexei Poutchinets back in the match at 7-5. Polasek served out the match to get the win 8-5.
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"We were pretty much in control the whole time," Polasek said. "They didn't really have any weapons to hurt us, so we just had to stay focused and keep our concentration."
At the number two position, the team of Brent Salazar and Ryan Stotland continued to dominate. The pair crushed Arkansas' Mithun Murali and Mariano Pettigrosso 8-2.
The number three pairing of David Kowalski and Divan Coetzee earned a hard-fought win 8-6 over Juan Carlos Baca and Jarrad Bunt.
Coetzee then earned his fourth win of the season over a ranked opponent with a 6-4, 6-0 win against 49th-ranked Pettigrosso in the number one singles position.
The first set was tight, as Pettigrosso broke Coetzee's serve in the opening game and pounded away from the baseline to take a 3-1 lead.
Coetzee rallied, taking two service breaks of his own to win the set 6-4. He would cruise in the second set, 6-0.
"That was a big match," Coetzee said. " He was ranked pretty high, so this was my big chance to get a good ranking. My coaches just told me to step in and not back up, just run him around."
At the number two singles position, Polasek earned a tough, three-set victory 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 over Poutchinets.
Scott cruised in the number three singles 6-1, 6-3 against Diez. John Kowalski scored an easy 6-3, 6-1 win over Murali at the number five singles position.
UNM's losses came in the fourth and sixth singles positions. Baca beat David Kowalski in the number four spot for the Trojans 6-1, 7-5.
Francesco Pagani ousted Stotland in a hard-fought three set match 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.
The Lobos will travel to Las Cruces Feb. 28 for an intra-state grudge match against New Mexico State University.
