HOUSTON, Texas – The UT Arlington men's tennis team lost for the first time in six matches on Thursday afternoon, falling to the Rice Owls 5-2. The loss moves the Mavericks to 6-6 on the season.
 
The Owls jumped out in doubles play with a win on court two, 6-2 over Nick Beamish and Solano Caffarena.  The Mavericks quickly evened up the doubles matches with a 6-3 win at the No. 3 position. The tie was short-lived, however, as the Owls took court one to win the doubles point, 6-3 over Alan Sau Franco and Alejandro Hayen.
 
Angel Diaz continued his momentum from doubles action into his singles match.  Diaz won in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 on court one to even the match 1-1.
 
That would be the last point the Mavericks would get until the final match of the day, however, as the Owls rattled off four singles matches to clinch the victory.
 
Nick Beamish fell 6-0, 6-3 to Trinity Grear on court six as the Owls took a 2-1 lead that they would not surrender.
 
Miguel Cabrera was the next to fall, losing the No. 2 position 6-3, 6-4 to Jacob Eskeland.
 
The Owls clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Solano Caffarena on court three before getting a fifth point from court four 1-6, 7-6, 10-6 over Alan Sau Franco.
 
Alejandro Hayen finished the afternoon with a positive, winning a three-set match on court five.  After falling 4-6 in set one, Hayen battled back to take sets two and three by a score of 6-4 in both sets, making the final score 5-2.
 
UP NEXT
The Mavericks will stay on the road, traveling to Wichita, Kan. for a neutral match against Denver at 11 am on Sunday, March 28.