Men’s tennis picks up weekend sweep, clinches MW regular-season title
The Utah State men’s tennis team clinched the Mountain West Conference regular season title for the third consecutive season Sunday after complteing a weekend sweep of Air Force and New Mexico. when the team won 4-2 against Air Force in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The weekend series started on Friday in Albuquerque, N.M., where the Aggies defeated New Mexico by a score of 4-1, a win which guaranteed at least a share of the regular season title.
Utah State struggled in the doubles portion of the match, as New Mexico seniors Bart Van Leijsen and Jorge Escutia won 7-6 at the No.1 spot over USU senior Jaime Barajas and freshman Jose Carvajal. Freshmen Felipe Acosta and Addy Vashistha lost 7-5 to their New Mexico opponents, junior Ricky Hernandez Tong and freshman Stepan Holis who won the No. 3 spot and took the doubles point as well. Utah State freshman Valdemar Holm and senior Andrew Nakajima trailed the No. 2 spot at 6-5 against sophomore Dominic West and senior Sean Baklini, but the match was left unfinished due to the results on other courts.
USU played strong in the singles play with all six players earning first-set victories. Vashistha recorded a straight sets win 6-4, 6-2, and the No. 6 spot against Baklini to put Utah State up on the board. Next, Barajas came up with a 6-2, 6-7 win at the No. 1 spot against Van Leijsen. Holm was able to propel the Aggies to a 3-1 lead after a 7-6, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 spot against Escutia. Junior Samuel Serrano won his first set 6-3 at the No. 3 spot against West, who took the second set 4-1, but Serrano bounced back to win in a tiebreaker, 7-6, and snatch the team’s Friday win.
“The guys were so tough today,” said USU head coach James Wilson following the win. “After losing the doubles point on the road in a very loud environment, they kept competing and battling until the end. I am very proud of their effort, and it is fun to see them playing for each other.”
After Friday’s match, the team went on to compete in Fort Collins, Colo. against Air Force.
Doubles started out with a loss, with Barajas and Carvajal losing, 3-6, at the No. 1 spot to junior Isaac Perez and freshman Patrick Sklenka. Air Force also went on to take the doubles point after freshman Paul Hendrix and Jaime Bautista won, 6-4, at the No. 3 spot against Acosta and Vashistha. Nakajima and Holm were leading 4-2 at the No. 2 spot against juniors Tadhg Collins and Luke Sanderson, but the match ended unfinished due to the other court’s results.
The Aggies got back on track in the singles portion of the match, with five out of the six USU competitors winning their first sets. Barajas dropped only a single game in his first set, 6-1, but wont the second, 6-4, at the No. 1 spot against Sklenka. With that win, Barajas has gone undefeated, 6-0, at the No. 1 spot during Mountain West play. Vashistha concluded shortly after with a 6-3, 7-6 win at the No. 6 spot against Collins. Acosta similarly posted a straight-set victory, 6-2, 7-6, at the No. 5 spot while going up against freshman Sean McKendree. Holm fell, 6-7, 3-6, at the No. 4 spot to Hendrix. Sophomore Sergiu Bucur secured the crown for Utah State with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the No. 2 spot against Sanderson.
““This was a great effort from our guys,” Wilson said. “They battled tough conditions and a feisty Air Force squad. I couldn’t be more proud of this group for sticking together and playing for each other.”
The Aggies will be traveling to San Diego, Calif. to compete in the Mountain West Championships from April 26 through the 28. Times of the matches and opponents will be announced at the end of the Mountain West regular season play.