Lobos Close Twin-Cities Trip with 5-2 Loss to Washington
Sunday, 03/07/2010
New Mexico drop two weekend matches against top-50 squads
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. --- The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team wrapped up its trip to the Twin Cities Saturday afternoon, dropping its second match of the weekend, 5-2 to 22nd-ranked Washington at the Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center.
With the loss, the 54th-ranked Lobos fall to 3-6 on the season, while the Huskies improve to 12-1.
New Mexico saw freshman Jadon Phillips and sophomore Joe Wood each notch match wins in singles’ play Saturday, accounting for the Lobos’ two points. New Mexico lost each of the three doubles’ matches to concede the singles’ point.
Phillips, playing in the No. 3 spot, beat Martin Kildahl in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Playing in the No. 5 spot, Wood bested Brad Bator 6-7, 6-4, 10-7.
New Mexico coach Alan Dils chalked up the two losses as a pair of learning experiences for his young squad.
“We’re trying to get better with each match,” Dils said. “That’s the goal every time we take the court.”
After losing 7-0 Friday against Minnesota, Dils said it was his team’s ability to settle down that translated into the Lobos scoring a pair of points against the highly-regarded Huskies.
“I think we were a bit too tense in our first match (Friday against Minnesota),” Dils continued. “We needed to play a little looser and relax a bit. We did a good job of that today. We played better tennis today.”
FRIDAY vs. MINNESOTA
The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team stumbled in its attempt to upset Minnesota Friday afternoon at the Baseline Tennis Center, dropping all nine doubles and singles matches to the 46th-ranked Golden Gophers en route to a 7-0 defeat.
The Lobos, ranked 54th entering this weekend’s two matches, saw freshman Jadon Phillips and sophomore Ben Dunbar take Minnesota’s No. 1 doubles team of Sebastian Gallego and Phillip Arndt to 14 games before falling 8-6.
New Mexico’s Joe Wood and Phil Anderson lost in the No. 2 spot to Rok Bonin and Tobias Wernet 8-4, while Carl Ho and Conor Berg dropped their match against Derek Peterson and Julian Dehn, 8-3.
Gallego, a native of Medellin, Colombia, and the No. 77-ranked singles player in the country, also bested Dunbar in singles action, 6-3, 6-2. The loss is Dunbar’s first in his last five singles matches.
Phillips notched the Lobos’ lone set win of the match and came within three points in the pro set of winning the Lobos first match of the day, eventually succumbing to Dino Bilankov 6-4, 4-6, 10-7. Phillips played in the No. 4 spot for New Mexico.
Playing in the No. 2 spot, Carl Ho went toe-to-toe with Wernet – ranked No. 111 in singles play – before losing 6-3, 6-4. In the No. 5 spot, Wood lost the first set to Michael Sicora, 6-1, before taking him to 12 games in the second, dropping the second set, 7-5.
“Minnesota is a little underrated on the current rankings – they deserve a lot of credit,” coach Alan Dils said. “They’re a very good team and played well on their home courts. We may have been trying too hard and been too tense entering these matches.”
Box Scores
#22 Washington 5, #54 New Mexico 2
Saturday, March 6, 2010 – Minneapolis, Minn.
Baseline Tennis Center
Singles
1) #56 Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW) def. Carl Ho (NM), 6-1, 6-1
2) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. Ben Dunbar (NM), 6-4, 6-2
3) Jadon Philips (NM) def. Martin Kildahl (UW), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
4) Tobi Obenaus (UW) def. Phil Anderson (NM), 6-4, 6-1
5) Joe Wood (NM) def. Brad Bator (UW), 6-7, 6-4, (10-7)
6) Alex Rosinski (UW) def. Conor Berg (NM), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1) #50 Nedunchezhiyan/McMorrow (UW) def. Dunbar/Philips (NM), 8-3
2) Drabble/Kildahl (UW) def. Ho/Anderson (NM), 8-1
3) #58 Rosinski/Obenaus (UW) def. Wood/Berg (NM), 8-5
Records: Washington: 12-1 New Mexico 3-6
#46 Minnesota 7, #54 New Mexico 0
Friday, March 5, 2010 – Minneapolis, Minn.
Baseline Tennis Center
Singles
1. #77 Sebastian Gallego (MINN) def. Ben Dunbar (NM) 6-3, 6-2
2. #111 Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. Carl Ho (NM) 6-3, 6-4
3. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Phil Anderson (NM) 6-1, 6-0
4. Dino Bilankov (MINN) def. Jadon Phillips (NM) 6-4, 4-6, (10-7)
5. Michael Sicora (MINN) def. Joe Wood (NM) 6-1, 7-5
6. Brendan Ruddock (MINN) def. Conor Berg (NM) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1. Gallego/Arndt (MINN) def. Dunbar/Phillips (NM) 8-6
2. Wernet/Bonin (MINN) def. Wood/Anderson (NM) 8-4
3. Derek Peterson/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Ho/Berg (NM) 8-3
Records:
Minnesota: 5-4
New Mexico: 3-5