by Justin Goodrum
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's tennis team fell behind early against Sacramento State but fought back to win its home meet, 6-1.
This was UNM's first encounter with Sacramento State, but the Lobos have been successful against teams from the Big Sky Conference and hold a record of 31-1.
In doubles matches, the No. 1 duo for the Lobos, David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland added another victory to their doubles record, defeating Juniad Hossain and Joakim Rydberg, 8-4.
The win gave senior David Kowalski his 92nd career doubles win. He needs seven more for the UNM record.
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That was the only doubles victory for the Lobos. Their two other doubles teams lost, giving Sacramento State a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
After the losses, head coach Alan Dils said his team started slow.
"We probably came out a little bit flat, especially in the No. 2, No. 3 doubles, thinking maybe it was going to happen instead of taking care of business," Dils said.
Half of the top doubles team agreed.
"Me and Dave played pretty well, but everyone else looked a little sluggish," Stotland said.
The pressure was on heading into the singles in order for the Lobos to keep their three-match winning streak alive.
Sweeping all six of the singles matches, UNM rebounded from its doubles struggles to win the meet.
Despite an overwhelming UNM win in points, the singles matches were competitive.
Stotland carried the momentum from his doubles win to his singles play as he defeated Matt Jones, 7-5, 7-5. Kowalski, Eric Conklin, Derek Boland, Max Jones and Kamil Pajkowski also won in straight sets.
Even though the Lobos prevailed, the team still wants to improve before the upcoming road trip.
Kowalski said he needed to be more focused.
"I started off really well," Kowalski said of his singles match "Toward the end, I kind of let off a little. I didn't keep my head in the match. "
Overall, Dils said, his team achieved a tough victory even after the slow start.
"Well, we gutted it out," Dils said. "We struggled in doubles. Obviously we lost a point. That was the first point we lost all year, and we beat some very good teams in doubles. So we got some things to work on."
The victory improved the No.66 Lobos' record to 3-2 as the team gets a short break and prepares for a road trip against Pennsylvania and a regional showdown with No. 44 Boise State on March 4 and 5 in Boise, Idaho.
The Lobos won't see their home court until their matchup against Brown University on April 1.
