LAWTON, Okla. – As the weekend kicked off the annual Rattlesnake festivals across Oklahoma, the St. Mary's Rattlers Men's Tennis team struck true, defeating 22
nd-ranked Cameron 4-3 on Saturday evening.
The Rattlers improved to 10-3 on the season and 3-1 in Lone Star Conference play, while the Aggies fell to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in Lone Star action.
Freshman Nicola Llosa (Lima, Peru) and senior
Leon Hein (Hamburg, Germany) blanked the Aggies No. 3 team 6-0, but the Aggies won 6-3 at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles for the first point of the match.
Cameron increased its lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at No. 2 singles, however senior
James Finnigan (Hamilton, Bermuda) got the Rattlers on the scoreboard with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 5 over Marek Slojewski. The Aggies also won at the fourth ladder spot to take a 3-1 edge in the overall match.
Llosa continued his strong day, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and then Hein bounced back at No. 6 after dropping the opening set 6-1 to win the next two 6-4, 6-3 to knot the score at 3-3. Hein is now 6-1 this season at the sixth spot.
Senior
Jeremiah Sanchez (Harlingen, Texas) remained undefeated on the season, winning a hard-fought 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 decision at No. 1 singles over Oscar del Granado to clinch the victory. Sanchez was ranked 16
th in the newest ITA Division II rankings as he improves to 12-0 with the win.
It is the first victory for the Rattlers this season over a nationally-ranked team and they remain perfect in true road matches (6-0).
St. Mary's returns home to host Western New Mexico on Friday, April 16 at 9:30 a.m. and hosts cross-town foe Our Lady of the Lake on Saturday at noon.
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