The UNM men’s tennis team fought to the bitter end before falling to Texas Tech University 4-3, Sunday, at the Lobo Tennis Club.
With the score tied 3-3, the final match between Lobo newcomer Henry Gers and John Walker would decide the fate of both teams.
The newly acquired Gers, who transferred from Aukland, New Zealand in January, took the first set 7-6 from TTU’s John Walker in the No. 6 singles match. Still, Gers could not hold on, as Walker won the final two sets, 6-7 and 4-6. That gave the Red Raiders their fourth and deciding point.
Head coach Alan Dils said he thought Gers competed well, especially considering the freshman arrived on the scene just last month.
The Lobos found themselves down early when they lost the doubles point by losing two-of-three doubles matches.
“I don’t think we played well in doubles,” Dils said. “If we could have won the doubles point, that would have been big.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Gers and Brent Salazar competed at the No. 1, spot falling to the TTU combo of Dieterik DeGroot and Devon Walker 8-3. At No. 2 doubles, Jasmin Hodzic and Bart Scott dropped their match 8-4. Salvaging one victory in doubles, the combo of junior Divan Coetzee and sophomore David Kowalski played to a 9-7 win.
In singles, Coetzee made quick work of DeGroot taking the match 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 1 position.
“I had a lot of opportunities to break him and I broke him a lot,” Coetzee said. “It was a pretty easy match for me.”
At No. 2 singles, Scott lost to Alfonso Perez 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a hard fought match. The crucial point of that contest came with the score tied 3-3 in the third set. Scott had several chances to break Perez but could not. He ultimately lost the momentum and the match.
Kowalski played admirably in defeating Esak Tanik in No. 3 singles. Kowalski fought off an ankle injury in the third set to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
“There’s something about when I’m down, I play so much better,” Kowalski said. “It’s much easier because I feel like I have no pressure.”
In the fourth spot, Salazar used his strong serve and powerful ground strokes to beat the Red Raiders’ Michael Innerbner 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Playing at No. 5 singles for the Lobos was Jasmin Hodzic, who had played brilliantly thus far in the spring season. Hodzic was not on his game, though, and dropped his match 6-2, 6-3 to TTU’s Devin Wakeford.
“I didn’t play as well as I have in the last few weeks,” Hodzic said. “I didn’t keep the ball in play, missed too many balls and had a lot of unforced errors.”
Coming into Sunday’s competition, UNM had taken two of the last three matches from TTU.
The Lobos (5-3) are in action next on Feb. 20, at the National Team Indoor Championships.
