New Mexico was unable to crown any victors at the end of the 2015 USTA/ITA Regional Championships on Sunday.
UNM tennis doubles partners Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen made it to the finals of the five-day event before falling to Denver University’s Henry Craig and Alex Gasson in a tight battle.
After falling behind 2-3, Sabatka and Van Leijsen capitalized on huge first serves and a solid net game to break their opponents twice and win the first set 6-3. The second set was more competitive, with neither side able to break the other’s serve.
The Lobos had two chances in the set, but were unable to close out their opponents and lost the second set 6-7 in a tiebreaker.
“I think we played better than they did for the whole of the match, but they elevated their game and, in the big moments of the match, they played better,” head coach Bart Scott said. “It was two good doubles teams in a high-quality match.”
In doubles competition, if the match is tied after two sets, a tiebreaker is played to 10 to determine the winner. After outplaying their opponents for much of the match, the Lobos dropped the tiebreaker 6-10.
Scott said the Lobos have enjoyed a lot of success over the years at this event. He said this is the eighth straight year, and ninth of the last 10, that the Lobos have had a finalist in singles or doubles.
Van Leijsen said he felt they were able to pick up momentum after losing the lead in the first set.
“We played really aggressive in the beginning,” he said. “When we were down 2-3, we just focused a little more on the service points and volleys.”
In the second set, many of those same shots just weren’t falling. Several volleys either ended up in the net or were pushed just a little wide. Sabatka said the intensity picked up as the match progressed.
“I think everyone’s game kind of picked up,” Sabatka said. “Everyone’s trying to break, but when everyone’s holding, it’s harder.”
The doubles partners enjoyed a lot of success this fall and are likely to move up the rankings going into the spring. Sabatka said they have made a lot of progress since pairing up in February.
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Scott said while the goal of fall tennis is to gain match experience and see improvement from tournament to tournament, this event had much more riding on it, with the winner gaining entry to the National Indoor Championships.
He said Sabatka and Van Leijsen did not earn the automatic bid to the ITA National Indoor Championships, but he is optimistic that the door is still open for the duo to make it to Flushing Meadows, New York.
“They have a decent shot of getting an at-large bid,” Scott said. “There are only four spots up for grabs, but we’re going to apply for them and see what happens.”
It was Sabatka and Van Leijsen’s first time playing at home since making a deep run at the ITA All-American Championships earlier this month at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The UNM doubles team made it all the way to the quarterfinals before being eliminated.
Sabatka and Van Leijsen weren’t the only Lobos competing on Sunday. Jorge Escutia battled to win the singles consolation final against the University of Denver’s Jesse Ruder-Hook.
He won the tiebreaker to take the first set 7-6, before dropping the second set 5-7. Down 4-5 in the third set, Escutia fought back to force another tiebreaker and take the final set 7-6.
Denver’s Diego Rocha defeated Utah’s Dan Little to win the single’s final, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4.
Scott said he was excited to see the championships come to Albuquerque for the first time in program history. He said they wouldn’t have had that opportunity without the McKinnon Family Tennis Center, built in 2014.
“We are thrilled that, because of this new facility, we are able to host events like this,” Scott said. “I’m very prideful of the fact that we are getting to host.”
Although New Mexico wasn’t able to take home any first-place hardware while hosting the event, Sabatka is looking forward to what is left of his collegiate career in his junior year.
“We have another year and a half to go,” Sabatka said. “We keep getting better and better. I think whatever is in front of us is going to be really good.”
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler
