WICHITA FALLS, Texas - The St. Mary's Men's Tennis team lost a close match on Friday as the Rattlers fell 4-3 to Midwestern State University. The Rattlers drop to 12-4 on the season and 4-2 in Lone Star Conference action.
After taking the doubles point, the Mustangs went up 2-0 after a win at No. 3 singles. Jamies Finnigan kept the Rattlers in it, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 4 line. A win at No. 2 singles put Midwestern State in front 3-1 with three matches left on the courts.
No. 16
Jeremiah Sanchez extended his unbeaten streak to 14 at No. 1 singles as the graduate defeated No. 8 Alex Martinez Roca in a hard-fought match. Sanchez cruised to a 6-2 victory in the opening set but Martinez Roca outlasted Sanchez in the second, winning 7-6 (8-6) to force a decisive third set. In the third, Sanchez came out on top, earning a 7-5 victory to bring the match to 3-2, Mustangs.
Leon Hein evened things up at three after winning at No. 6 singles. Hein lost a close set in the opener, 7-6 (7-5) but Hein then went on to win 6-1, 6-2.
Alex Gee dropped his first set but battled back in the second to win in a tie-breaker to force a third set. With the match on the line, the Mustangs came away with a 6-1 win in the third set to claim the 4-3 victory over the Rattlers.
St. Mary's will conclude their regular season tomorrow as they take on DBU at 9:30 a.m.
