The meet was already in hand Sunday, with UNM leading the Santa Clara Broncos 4-1, but seniors David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland still had the Lobos' last two matches to wrap up.
It was a fitting end to their Lobo careers. Kowalski and Stotland had all the attention.
On one end of the UNM tennis complex, Kowalski was screaming in ecstasy after winning in the third set of his final home match.
On the other end, the crowd was cheering on Stotland as he neared his third set win, which gave the Lobos a dominating 6-1 victory over the unranked Broncos.
Kowalski said there were dueling emotions over his last meet at UNM.
"I felt happy and sad at the same time," Kowalski said. "I really don't think it has set in yet though and probably won't for another couple months."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM was coming off its 6-1 pounding of the 75th-ranked Denver Pioneers at home on Friday.
"I feel like we are playing better and better each time out," head coach Alan Dils said. "We had a lot of holes in our schedule up until this point, and I think we are starting to regain some of our mental toughness."
Freshman Max Jones continued his strong play Sunday.
After a close doubles loss, Jones recovered to win his singles match easily, 6-0 and 6-2.
Jones is now 22-6 overall on the season in singles and 3-0 in playing in the No. 1 spot.
"I have to attribute most of my success this season to my coaches," Jones said. "They make me practice all the right things and continually encourage me."
The Lobos started the match well on Sunday, winning the doubles point by taking two out of three matches.
The No. 1 duo of Kowalski and Stotland won easily, 8-3.
The tandem of junior Eric Conklin and freshman Derek Lynch solidified the point with the win.
In singles, the Lobos dominated again, winning five of the six possible points. They were led by Jones and his fellow freshman and doubles partner Kamil Pajkowski.
"The freshmen are the future of this team, and they continue to improve," Dils said. "Max is playing at such a high level right now, and Kamil just continues to get better and better."
As for the remainder of the season, the Lobos start conference play on April 8 and 9 in Provo, Utah, with matches against Utah and Brigham Young. UNM heads into conference as the defending champ with a big bull's-eye on its back.
"The conference is filled with lots of good teams, and we are all very equal," Stotland said. "We need to play good and step it up though, because we are defending champs and everybody is going to want to beat us."
Dils said the Lobos have yet to hit their peak, and there is always room to improve.
"As long as we keep our consistency and mental focus through the rest of the season, along with staying healthy, we will be successful," Dils said.
This weekend's two dominating performances put the Lobos at 6-5 on the season and send them into conference play on a hot streak.
