Sunday, 02/07/2010

New Mexico sports a 16-3 home record since 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team rebounded from two losses a weekend ago crushing 57th-ranked Middle Tennessee State, 6-1, Friday night at the Linda Estes Tennis Center. The win evens 50th-ranked UNM’s record to 2-2 and drops the Blue Raiders to 0-4. The Lobos have gone 16-3 at home dating back to the 2008 season.

“I thought we actually got up in a couple of matches and kind of lost our concentration a little bit, could have done a little bit better closing them out a little quicker,” head coach Alan Dils said. “To beat a really good team, we have to be able to do that – close it out every single time you are up, don’t let the other guy come back. That is part of our youth, part of what we are learning. I am proud of the guys for fighting really hard.”

New Mexico opened play by snatching the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. After Phil Anderson and Carl Ho suffered an 8-6 loss to John Peers and Richard Cowden at the No. 1 slot, the No. 2 and No. 3 holes for UNM stepped up. Ben Dunbar and Jadon Phillips, who led the entire match, picked up an 8-6 victory at the No. 2 position, while Joe Wood and Conor Berg steadily defeated Matthew Langley and Kyle Wishing at the No. 3 position, 8-6.

It would be the bottom half of the singles lineup that fueled UNM to the win. Sophomore Anderson overwhelmed Langley at the No. 4 position, using two 6-2 sets to coast to an easy win and put him at 3-1 for the dual season.

Freshman Berg, playing No. 6 singles, quickly followed Anderson with a 6-2, 7-5 win of his own. Berg trailed 3-5 at one point in the second set, only to respond with four straight unanswered points.

Junior Wood closed sealed the win with a 7-6, 6-2 win in the No. 5 hole. Wood rallied from a 2-5 deficit in the first set and handled opponent Shaun Waters in the tiebreaker, 7-1, before continuing his momentum in the second set.

Phillips also showed come-from-behind moxie, winning his first set 6-3 after trailing 1-3 and his second set, 7-5, after trailing 2-3.

The Lobos host No. 63 Denver on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 11 a.m. at the Linda Estes Tennis Center on south campus.

#50 New Mexico 6, #57 Middle Tennessee State 1

Singles
1. #105 John Peers (MT) def. Carl Ho (NM) 7-5, 6-4
2. Ben Dunbar (NM) def. Victor Melo (MT) 6-4, 1-6, 13-11
3. Jadon Phillips (NM) def. Richard Cowden (MT) 6-3, 7-5
4. Phil Anderson (NM) def. Matthew Langley (MT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Joe Wood (NM) def. Shaun Waters (MT) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
6. Conor Berg (NM) def. Alex McCann (MT) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles
1. John Peers/Richard Cowden (MT) def. Carl Ho/Phil Anderson (NM) 8-6
2. Ben Dunbar/Jadon Phillips (NM) def. Victor Melo/Shaun Waters (MT) 8-6
3. Joe Wood/Conor Berg (NM) def. Matthew Langley/Kyle Wishing (MT) 8-6

Match Notes:
Middle Tennessee 0-4; National ranking #57
University of New Mexico 2-2; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,6,5,3,1,2)