TYLER, Texas – Fighting through starting time changes and several weather delays, the St. Mary's Men's Tennis team hung tough against #2 UT Tyler, despite the 4-0 loss on the scoreboard.
The Rattlers (9-6, 0-3 Lone Star) battled in doubles with
Nicolas Llosa (Lima, Peru) and
Jake Faryniarz (San Antonio) winning 6-3 at #3. The Patriots won 6-4 at number one, putting all the pressure of the #2 teams.
The tandem of
Alvaro Soler (Alicante, Spain) and
Sebastian Azcui (La Paz, Bolivia) were tied at both 4-4 and 5-5 before going to the tiebreaker. The Patriots pair scored the first two points of the breaker, however the Rattlers fought back to tie things at 3-3 before eventually losing 7-5.
"The guys played some really solid doubles and were points away from putting a good scare into UT Tyler," said Director of Tennis
Bill Macom. "We stayed really loose in the singles and kept every match pretty close. I see a lot of improvement from spring break."
Due to the delays from weather, only the first four singles spots took the courts after doubles, as the women's teams were playing concurrently. The Patriots managed straight sets wins at 2-4 for the four point win.
Soler was engaged in the third set against #8 Joaquin Bianchi. Soler won the first set 6-4 before Bianchi won the second set 6-2 and the pair were on serve in the third when the match was decided.
Both #5 and #6 singles were early in the first sets when things concluded.
