Men's Tennis Fights Tough Against #29 Falcons

ODESSA, Texas — Four of the 15 sets played in singles went to tiebreakers, but the St. Mary's University Men's Tennis team was only able to win one as they fell 5-2 in the regular season finale to 29th-ranked UT Permian Basin on Sunday afternoon.
 
"It's another tough loss because we've been really close in every match," said Director of Tennis Bill Macom. "However, I think there's still a great opportunity for us to win the conference tournament. We are definitely a threat to any opponent because the guys are hungry with a lot to prove, and our level of play can easily jump up a few more gears."
 
The Falcons (18-3, 7-1 Lone Star Conference) gained the early edge by winning the doubles point, though the Rattlers (6-9, 3-5 Lone Star) pushed them to the limit. Seniors Jake Faryniarz (San Antonio) and Ryan Koth (Boerne, Texas), ranked 35th this week by the ITA, won 6-2 at line one after UTPB won on court two. Freshman Leonardo Fabbri (Faenza, Italy) and senior Nicolas Llosa (Lima, Peru) were broken late to drop a 7-5 set.
 
Trailing 2-0, Faryniarz put the Rattlers on the scoreboard with his 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 victory on court four. After another Falcon win, sophomore Aaron Ben Anton (Remseck, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) bounced back from a first-set loss to only lose one game, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 for the team's second point.
 
Senior Oskar Irdoja (Tallinn, Estonia) lost only his second conference match all season, losing 4-6, 6-7 (1) at number two singles. He finishes 7-1 in Lone Star play.
 
With their 3-5 record in Lone Star play, the Rattlers will be the sixth seed in the upcoming Lone Star Conference Tournament at the Arlington Tennis Center, April 25-27.