New Mexico leaves Los Angeles still looking to break its losing streak which has now swelled to seven consecutive loses.
The men’s tennis team started play on Saturday squaring off against Georgia Tech. The team wasn’t able to secure a point in the matchup, losing 4-0.
Despite the results, head coach Bart Scott said the team is showing signs of improvement where it counts. Several of the matches were competitive and it seems like just a matter of time before things come together for the Lobos.
“There was marked improvement across the board as far as competing the right way with the right focus and energy,” Scott said in a release. “We got that part right. Now we simply need to couple that with better play.”
The eighth ranked doubles pair of Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen lost to Georgia Tech’s duo of Michael Kay and Casey Kay, 3-6. When Augustus Ge and Rodolfo Jauregui dropped their match by the same score, the Lobos dug a hole it was unable to climb out of.
The Yellow Jackets continued to pick up points by winning the first three matches in singles play, even though things were much more tightly contested.
On Sunday, the Lobos competed against 46th ranked Southern Methodist. New Mexico appeared to show improvement by forcing third sets in several of the singles matches, but suffered the same fate as the previous day losing, 4-0 to the Mustangs.
Sabatka and Van Leijsen are accustomed to enjoying success as doubles partners, but fell short against their opponents 3-6. Although Ge and Jauregui were ahead in their doubles match, Jorge Escutia and Ricky Hernandez-Tong dropped their match 3-6.
The loss resulted in the doubles point being awarded to SMU and forced the Lobos to play from behind again. Scott said picking up the lone doubles point in dual match competition is very important to achieving success.
“We are in every one of these matches and the guys are fighting their tails off,” he said in a release. “We have to find a way to play to our potential in doubles though if we want to right the ship.”
In singles competition, Michael Tran battled back to take the second set from SMU’s Yates Johnson to force a third set before the Mustangs won the clinching point that caused play to be suspended. Escutia and Hernandez-Tong also had their matches suspended despite being able to win the first set in both of those matchups.
The Lobos will be off until Feb. 12 when they travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to compete in the USTA/ITA National Indoors. The stiff competition to open the season will likely have the Lobos prepared for the level of competition and allow them to get back in the win column.
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Robert Maler is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
