After returning to the court from a 5-2 victory on Saturday against Cal Poly, the ETSU men’s tennis team fell 7-0 on the road against the New Mexico Lobos. The Lobos captured all three doubles matches, along with all six singles matches.
Bucs standout Dimitri Badra (Maracay, Venezuela) was able to battle nationally ranked Arda Azkara in three sets, failing to capture a win in sets of 7-5, 3-6, and 7-5 once again.
In other singles competitions, the drama reached its peak in the fifth singles match. Where Rafael Abdulsalam (NM) secured a hard-fought win against Francisco Lamas (Maracay, Venezuela). However, the Bucs starter was able to push his opponent to extra points in the second set of his match. Ultimately falling with scores of 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) total.
Transitioning to doubles competition, New Mexico continued their winning ways. The duo of Arda Azkara and Alex Maggs (NM) secured a 6-4 victory against Milledge Cossu (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Adam Nagoudi (Tunis, Tunisia) in the first doubles match. Nicholas Recoura and Georgio Sahama added to New Mexico’s success with another 6-4 win against the ETSU pairing of Badra and Lamas. The third and final set of doubles would see Ryoma Matsushita and Avery Tallakson complete the sweep for New Mexico with a 6-4 win against Alberto Garcia (Alicante, Spain) and James Sim (New Zealand).
Overall, as the echoes of the intense competition settled, New Mexico emerged victorious. Showcasing their prowess in both singles and doubles competitions. The ETSU men’s tennis team, while facing a challenging adversary, undoubtedly gained valuable insights and experiences that will fuel their journey in the collegiate tennis arena for the rest of the upcoming season.
Despite the setback loss, ETSU will get the chance for a home-opening victory next Saturday, Jan. 27th, at 3 p.m. in Bristol against the traveling Radford Highlanders of the Big South Conference.
For more information about ETSU men’s tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com.
