Men's Tennis Runs Into Tough Aggies Team

LAWTON, Okla. – The St. Mary's Men's Tennis team faced a tough test against a nationally-ranked team for the second-straight week, falling 6-1 to #18 Cameron.
 
The Rattlers move to 10-8 overall and 1-5 in Lone Star Conference play, while the Aggies improve to 10-3 on the year and 5-1 in the league.
 
"Our first serve percentage could have made a difference in the doubles, because I felt we returned serve alright," said Director of Tennis Bill Macom. "Even though the guys were tired from yesterday's marathon match, we did a great job battling in singles. We have definitely improved since the beginning of the season."
 
Sophomore Alvaro Soler (Alicante, Spain), currently ranked 53rd, bounced back from a tough loss on Friday to win in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1 over #28 Tomas Almeida for the Rattlers lone win. It is the second win this season for Soler against a player ranked higher in the national rankings.
 
Junior Oskar Irdoja (Tallinn, Estonia) and Thomas Cardona had a knock-down, drag out fight on court two. Irdoja won the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-3 and Cardona got a late break of serve in the second set to win 7-5. The two played a back-and-forth international doubles tiebreaker in the third set with Cardona eking out the 10-8 victory.
 
The Rattlers close out the regular season on Friday and Saturday, hosting UT Permian Basin at noon on Friday and Western New Mexico for Senior Day on Saturday at 9 a.m. The team will honor Carlos Franco and Sebastian Azcui between the men's and women's matches.