PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis lost its third match in a row, falling to 2-3 on the season, after a 4-3 loss to New Mexico at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts on Friday.
“I thought the energy was much better today than it was in Oregon last week,” BYU head coach Dave Porter said. “We were a little short-handed, playing without Jack Barnett, but the rest of the team stepped up and played hard. We had opportunities. We just didn't seize the day. We had chances;, we were ahead in the third set in a couple of matches and had we closed down, I think we would have finished the match an hour before it ended, but we made some improvement. We made some progress, and we'll be ready for Idaho State next Saturday.”
The Lobos took the doubles point after a quick win at No. 2 doubles and another at No. 1 doubles. After Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo fell to Raul Dobai and Jake Trondson at the No. 2 spot, 6-2, both No. 1 and No. 3 doubles were locked up at 4- and then 5-all. New Mexico then went ahead 6-5 on both courts, earning the doubles point on a 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles.
Sean Hill evened up the match score at 1-1 with a quick 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Dobai at No. 1 singles. Stepan Holis then beat Tullis at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, but Gajardo followed with a thrilling 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Sergio Molina (UNM) to tie it up again. The Lobos took a 3-2 lead as Dominic West defeated Mateo Vereau Melendez, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 2 singles.
It was a race to the finish from there with Dominik Jakovljevic forcing a third set at No. 5 singles and Matheus Ferreira Leite ahead by a comfortable margin at No. 6 singles. Leite closed it out with a 6-2, 7-5 win, once again tying up the match, this time at 3-3. Jakovljevic couldn’t quite complete the comeback, however, falling 2-6, 6-2, 3-6 to Rafael Abdulsalam.
The Cougars are at home again next weekend, hosting Idaho State at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 12 p.m. MST. The match will be live streamed and live stats will also be available.
MATCH RESULTS
New Mexico 4, BYU 3
Doubles Competition
1. Sergio Molina/Dominic West (UNM) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez/Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU), 7-5
2. Raul Dobai/Jake Trondson (UNM) def. Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU), 6-2
3. Sean Hill/Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) vs. Stepan Holis/Facundo Bermejo (UNM), 6-5, unf.
Order of finish: (2, 1)
Singles Competition
1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Raul Dobai (UNM), 6-1, 6-2
2. Dominic West (UNM) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Stepan Holis (UNM) def. Sam Tullis (BYU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
4. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Sergio Molina (UNM), 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4
5. Rafael Abdulsalam (UNM) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
6. Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU) def. Facundo Bermejo (UNM), 6-2, 7-5
Order of finish: (1, 3, 4, 2, 6, 5)