The New Mexico doubles team of Bart Van Leijsen and Hayden Sabatka fell in a tightly contested semifinal match at the 2015 USTA/ITA Indoor Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, New York on Saturday.
Van Leijsen and Sabatka entered as the 29th ranked doubles team in the nation. They had a chance to qualify for the tournament a few weeks ago, but suffered a heartbreaking loss, losing two tiebreakers in the finals of the Regional Championships in Albuquerque on October, 25.
Head coach Bart Scott said UNM was one of four schools that were vying for two spots to receive an exception to enter the tournament. Once they received the invite, he said he felt good things would happen.
“We always felt like it we could get into the tournament, we could do some damage,” Scott said. “The national indoors suits our game well.”
Scott said the points usually play faster on an indoor court and both Van Leijsen and Sabatka have very powerful serves.
The Lobos started the tournament by playing the University of Georgia’s Austin Smith and Ben Wagland, the preseason No. 1-ranked doubles team. Van Leijsen and Sabatka advanced to the quarterfinals by beating the pair in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. In the quarterfinal match, the duo advanced by beating the third seeded San Diego team of Jordan Angus and Fillip Vittek, also in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6.
But Van Leijsen and Sabatkacame up just short in the semifinals against Texas Tech’s Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares. After dropping the first set, Van Leijsen and Sabatka came back to win the second set and force a tiebreaker. They served with the score tied at nine, but were unable to win the next two points, losing 4-6, 6-2, 1-0.
The Texas Tech team eventually won the indoor championship, marking the third time this season the Lobos lost to the eventual champion in a tournament.
Scott said he is happy with the overall play and how Van Leijsen and Sabatka performed under pressure. He said it will provide a lot of confidence to them and the team in general. After the doubles partner’s success this fall, he said he anticipates the duo climbing the rankings when they are released in the spring.
“We were two points away from beating Texas Tech and playing for a national championship,” he said. “We were in the final four in a national event, so it’s a big deal.”
Robert Maler is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler
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