March 20, 2011
Final Stats
Arlington, Texas - Despite windy conditions Sunday afternoon at the UTA Tennis Center, the UT Arlington men's tennis team overcame the obstacle and recorded a 4-3 victory against No. 57 New Mexico State.
The win improved the Mavericks to 8-5 overall and it was UTA's third win this season against a nationally-ranked opponent. The Mavs defeated ranked opponents Utah State and Columbia earlier this season.
"Today it was all about sticking with our game plan throughout the whole match," said head coach Diego Benitez. "It was a great victory against a nationally-ranked team for the third time this year. It was pretty windy but we are getting to a point where we know we are mentally stronger than our opponent."
UT Arlington opened the afternoon with the doubles portion and recorded the point after winning two of the three matches.
Head coach Benitez shook up New Mexico State by switching the lineup in the No. 1 and 2 doubles flights. Mindaugas Celedinas and David Subirats teamed up to face Matej Stakne and Jim Brouleau in the top flight. The duo picked up an 8-4 win.
Lucas Leppen and Brieuc Hamon handed Orlando Superlano and Luis Ramirez an 8-6 loss in the No. 2 position. Yauheni Yakauleu and Nicolas Moreno came up short, falling 8-6 against Arthur Surreaux and Marc Westgate in the No. 3 spot.
The Mavericks headed into singles action with a 1-0 advantage and battled in every match, winning in the No.1, 4 and 6 flights.
Celedinas pulled out a huge three-set win against Surreaux in the top flight with scores of 6-7, 6-4 and 6-3. Leppen gave the Aggies the first point of the match after he dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision against Brouleau in the No. 2 position.
Yakauleu fought hard in the No. 3 singles flight against Superlano but came up short, falling 7-5, 4-6 and 7-5.
Freshman Erik Hjertonsson gave the Mavericks another point after he recorded a 5-7, 6-2, and 7-6 victory over Stakne in the No. 4 spot.
Moreno suffered a hard fought 7-5, 4-6, and 6-3 loss against Luis Ramirez in the No. 5 position while Subirats sealed the deal with a 3-6, 6-4, and 6-4 win against Felipe Frattini in the No. 6 flight.
"At some point we were down a set on every count but this team showed so much heart and overcame the scoreboard," Benitez said.
The Mavericks will get back into conference action against Texas-Pan American on Friday, April 8 at the UTA Tennis Center. Match time is set for 2 p.m.
