Men's Tennis Battles Tough In DI Exhibition

SAN ANTONIO – In preparation for a tough 2022 slate, the St. Mary's Men's Tennis Team battled tough in an exhibition match against Division I UT Rio Grande Valley on Sunday morning, falling 4-3.
 
The Vaqueros are 1-3 on the season with the win, while the Rattlers will begin counting competition on Saturday, Feb. 5 when they host Tabor College at 8 a.m. and Schreiner at 4 p.m. in a doubleheader.
 
UTRGV scored the first point of the morning by winning all three doubles matches. The two teams then split the six singles matches, with the Vaqueros winning 1-3 and the Rattlers winning 4-6.
 
Freshman Alvaro Soler (Alicante, Spain) got the Rattlers on the scoreboard first, winning a 4-1 retirement match at No. 6.
 
The Vaqueros regained the lead with the win at No. 3 singles, then the final four matches all wrapped up about the same time.
 
At No. 4, sophomore transfer Oskar Irdoja (Tallinn, Estonia) blanked Sam Whitehead 6-0 in the first set before getting the late break for the 7-5 straight sets victory.
 
Sophomore Nicolas Llosa (Lima, Peru) had the opposite match of Irdoja, fighting back-and-forth until the late break of serve gave him a 7-5 first set win and then he won the second set 6-0.
 
Senior transfer Chad Nguyen (College Station, Texas) lost 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1, while sophomore Jake Faryniarz (San Antonio) pushed late in the second before falling 6-1, 7-5 at No. 2 and freshman Niklas Knoerr (Tübingen, Germany) dropped in straight sets at No. 3, 6-2, 6-3.