ARLINGTON– The UT Arlington men's tennis team (7-7, 1-0 WAC) took down their first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) opponent Grand Canyon in a 4-3 battle at the UTA Tennis Center on Saturday.
 
The Mavericks took an early deficit as the Lopes came out strong in doubles play, falling on three doubles courts to go down 0-1.
 
Court 2 finished first, where Meethre Barot and Andres Medus dropped the first doubles match to Alfred Almasi and Pablo Salvador. The Lopes earned an early break, which helped them gain momentum for a 5-1 lead. Barot and Medus pushed one more game before they fell 6-2.
 
The Lopes clinched the advantage with a win on Court 3 over Yazid Lahjomri and Pedro Sasso. Wyatt Anderson and Jonathan Da Silva broke early on for the one-game lead throughout the match, then a late break helped them close out 6-3.
 
Joan Torres Espinosa and Dante Teramo continued to battle on Court 1 after the clinch in a tight match against Gerhard Sullwald and David Wekesa. The match stayed on-serve, with both teams evening the score to force a tiebreaker. The Lopes gained a lead in the tiebreaker, but two points on Teramo's serve put the Mavs one point away from tying. The Lopes managed to close out the final point, giving them a score of 7-6 (5).
 
The energy shifted in singles play, with the Mavericks responding to the doubles loss by taking the next four singles points for the clinch.
 
First off-court was South Carolina State transfer Sasso as he earned a solid straight-set victory over Paolo Rosati on Court 6. Sasso started off his match strong, earning an early break to help him go up 1-0. Anderson stayed close behind, but the break proved to be crucial to a first-set win as Sasso closed it out 6-4.
 
Sasso then took a commanding lead to begin the second set as he carried a 4-1 lead into the second changeover. Anderson made a small push near the end, earning a break of serve then held to bring the score to 5-3, but Sasso played a strong last game and notched the first singles win 6-3.
 
The final straight-set win of the day concluded on Court 4, where Barot concluded his match over Almasi after being down in the opening set. Almasi earned a dominant lead to begin the match, holding a 4-1 lead over Barot. Barot was not to be outdone, however, as he began to chip away at a comeback. The score eventually became 4-4 as Barot fought to get the set back on-serve. He then earned the late break in the final game as he closed out the set 7-5.
 
Barot was rolling through the second set, earning a solid 5-1 lead. Almasi gained some traction near the end, breaking Barot's serve then holding his own to put the score at 5-3. Barot seized his second opportunity to serve out the match, closing it out 6-3 to give the Mavs a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Next off was Espinosa as he increased his winning streak to 11 matches on Court 1 with a three-set triumph over Salvador. Espinosa played a perfect first set as he did not allow Salvador a game. Strong net play and return game helped Espinosa earn the 6-0 heading into the second set.
 
Espinosa gained a strong lead in the second, breaking to go up 4-1 at the second changeover. Salvador began to retaliate, earning a break of his own then holding serve to bring the score to 4-4. As Salvador earned the next two games to even the score, Espinosa prepared for the final set after the 6-4 loss.
 
Salvador earned the first game on a break of serve, but Espinosa responded by earning a break of his own. After 1-1, Espinosa took control of the match and allowed Salvador only one more game before closing out the match by forcing an error, 6-2.
 
With the Mavs one point away from winning, all eyes were on Courts 2, 3 and 5 as the Argentinian trio of Teramo, Solano Caffarena and Medus competed to clinch the match.
 
Freshman Medus secured the win after a strong comeback over Da Silva on Court 5. Medus earned an early break in the first set, but Da Silva responded and earned a break of his own to keep the score even. As neither side could pull away with a two-game lead, the first set went to a tiebreaker where Da Silva closed out 7-6.
 
Medus managed to even the score in the second set, earning a solid 3-0 lead to begin with. After going up 4-1 at the changeover, he only allowed Da Silva two more games before tying up the match 6-3.
 
The pressure was on as the two battled in the final set to clinch the win. Medus gained a lead after going up 3-2, winning the next two games for a 5-2 lead. Da Silva then earned one more game before Medus was left to break serve for the win. After a hard-fought final point, Medus secured the victory 6-3.
 
The Lopes earned their only singles wins on the remaining courts after the match had been decided.
 
Despite a comeback after dropping the first set, Caffarena could not overcome Wekesa as he fell in the deciding set on Court 3. After going down early in the first set, Caffarena fought to bring the set to a tiebreaker, but eventually fell 7-6.
 
He retaliated in the second set, earning a strong 6-3 win in order to force the match to a third. In the final set, Caffarena fell short by two games after a late break from Wakesa 6-4.
 
Teramo fell in a tough battle on Court 2 after a late push from Sullwald in the final two sets. In the first set, Teramo ran away with the win after gaining a 4-3 lead, breaking then holding for a 6-3 lead.
 
In the second set, Sullwald did not back down as he kept the score close, eventually evening it to 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. Sullwald managed to even the match score as he played a strong tiebreaker, allowing Teramo only two points in the 7-6 (2) win.
 
Sullwald gained a strong lead in the deciding set, going up a break over Teramo. Teramo was not to be outdone, earning a break of his own and holding serve later in the set to go up 5-4. On Sullwald's service game, Teramo had the opportunity to break serve, but Sullwald earned four consecutive points to even the score. In the final two games, Teramo ran out of gas as Sullwald finished off the match 7-5.
 
The Mavs are set to face their second WAC opponent Abilene Christian on Friday at the John T.L. Jones Tennis Building in Abilene, Texas at 2 p.m.
 
UTA 4, GCU 3
Doubles

1. Gerhard Sullwald/ David Wekesa (GCU) def. Joan Torres Espinosa/ Dante Teramo 7-6 (5)
2. Alfred Almasi/ Pablo Salvador (GCU)  def. Meethre Barot/ Andres Medus (UTA) 6-2
3.  Wyatt Anderson/ Jonathan Da Silva (GCU)  def. Yazid Lahjomri/ Pedro Sasso (UTA) 6-3

Singles

1. Joan Torres Espinosa (UTA) def. Pablo Salvador (GCU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
2. Gerhard Sullwald (GCU) def. Dante Teramo (UTA) 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5
3. David Wekesa (GCU) def. Solano Caffarena (UTA) 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
4. Meethre Barot (UTA) def. Alfred Almasi (GCU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Andres Medus (UTA) def. Jonathan Da Silva (GCU) 6-7, 6-3, 6-3
6. Pedro Sasso (UTA) def. Paolo Rosati (GCU) 6-4, 6-3

 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's tennis program on Twitter (@utamavsmtennis) Instagram (@utamavsmtennis) and Facebook (/utamavsmtennis).