New Mexico men’s tennis started the spring season with a win, but that was the only one it would pick up before leaving Lubbock, Texas.
The Lobos opened strong on Friday, winning its doubles matches to earn a point and three singles matches to garner its first victory of the season 4-2 over Pacific. UNM followed that up by winning in doubles against Arizona, but was only able to pick up one win in singles play, losing 4-2 to the Wildcats.
Head Coach Bart Scott said he knew wins would be hard to come by at Texas Tech. He said that the Big 12 Conference is the best in the country in men’s tennis, and Arizona and Pacific are improving and well-coached.
“It’s tough. None of these matches are guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination,” Scott said. “It makes us stronger toward the end of the year playing big time tennis so early in the season.”
After getting a split on day one, the Lobos squared off against Texas Tech, the host and 17th ranked school in the nation.
After trading wins in the first two doubles matches, UNM’s eighth ranked doubles partners Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen battled Texas Tech’s Alex Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson for the decisive point, but dropped the decisive match in a tiebreaker 7-6.
That proved costly as the Red Raiders clinched the victory over UNM 4-0 by picking up wins in singles play, despite one Lobo having a led and another playing his opponent to a tie after two sets. Those matches go unfinished after a team clinches victory.
In the afternoon, Jorge Escutia picked up a singles victory along with Sabatka, but UNM fell to Arizona for the second consecutive day, 4-2.
On Monday, the Lobos played Pacific to a draw in singles competition with each team winning three matches a piece. But Pacific was able to pick up the deciding point by winning the first two doubles matches, earning a 4-3 victory over New Mexico.
The Lobos closed out the event by playing Texas Tech again. UNM’s Sabatka jumped out to an early 4-1 in the first singles match, but would drop the next five games before eventually losing 6-4, 6-3 to Texas Tech’s Felipe Soares.
Van Leijsen registered a victory over Hugo Dojas, 6-2, 6-4, but he was the only Lobo to pick up a point in singles play. The Lobos lost by a final team score of 4-1.
Texas Tech justified its No. 17 national ranking as the team capped the event with a perfect 6-0 record. Texas Tech only allowed four points combined over the three day event. Both Arizona and Pacific ended with 2-3 records, while the Lobos finished 1-5.
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Scott said one of his concerns was preparing the team for the energy and intensity that was going to be necessary for a test like this. He said he and the other coaches were trying to convey that message since team returned to practice, but it is hard to simulate.
“That’s the key, because you can’t really prepare for a high intensity dual match like (this),” he said.
The Lobos will try to get back on track as they travel to Los Angeles where they will face Georgia Tech on Friday and either UCLA or Southern Methodist University on Saturday.
Robert Maler is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler
