WICHITA FALLS, Texas — St. Mary's University's
Alvaro Soler ended his career on a high note. However, it wasn't enough for the No. 49 Rattlers on Sunday as they fell 6-1 to No. 24 Midwestern State.
Soler, a senior from Alicante, Spain, defeated Stephen Slocombe in straight sets at number three singles with a late break of serve in set one and a tiebreaker in set two, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) to improve to 5-1 this season in LSC play and move to 17-7 for his career. He leaves as the StMU record holder in career conference victories, bettering the mark of 15 set by Jeremiah Sanchez from 2017-2021 and
Nicolas Llosa from 2021-2024.
He was the only Rattler (9-9) to get a victory over the Mustangs (13-5) in the regular season finale for both teams. All six singles bouts were decided in straight sets, and the loss knocks the Rattlers out of qualifying for the Lone Star Conference Championship.
"It's a disappointing end to the spring, but we definitely improved over last season," said Director of Tennis
Bill Macom. "We have a few starters returning and a solid recruiting class coming in the fall."
The Rattlers say goodbye to
Pierre Copin (Vidauban, Var, France),
Ian Freire (Guatemala City, Guatemala),
Daniel Matheu Baldor (Madrid, Spain) and Soler.
