WAC Tournament Central
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Staked to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a dominating display in doubles action, the second-seeded NM State men's tennis team fell victim to a comeback bid by top-seeded GCU as the Lopes went on to win the WAC Tournament title match 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the NM State Tennis Center. The Aggies' saw their season come to an end while the Lopes earned the WAC's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
DOUBLES
• Coming out like gangbusters, the Aggies gave the Lopes no quarter in a dominating doubles performance.
• Corey Clarke and Martin Simecek made quick work of Justin Cvitanovic and Mariano Argote in second-flight action, needing just 23 minutes to dispatch the Lopes' duo by a 6-1 tally.
• Less than a minute later, NM State's top-line duo of Louis Menard and Jordy Visser finished off the Lopes' Valentin Lang and Jiri Novak by an identical 6-1 score to seal the doubles point for the hosts.
SINGLES
• Much like his doubles bout, Simecek's singles showdown resulted in a nearly flawless victory for the Aggies' competitor. His third-flight tilt with Cvitanovic was a 6-0, 6-1 win, pushing NM State's lead to 2-0.
• Unfortunately for the Aggies, their lead began to shrink following Simecek's lopsided triumph. Jordy Visser found himself on the wrong end of a 7-6, 6-2 result against Novak on line five which cut NM State's lead to 2-1.
• Nicolas Buitrago dropped a competitive 6-3, 7-5 decision to Argote in flight two play, knotting the match at 2-2.
• GCU took its first lead of the match after Petr Stavrovskij narrowly missed out on forcing a third set in flight six action. NM State's freshman fell 6-4, 7-6 to Freddie Grant, putting the Aggies at a 3-2 disadvantage.
• With all eyes on courts one and four, Menard battled back to give the Aggies a glimmer of hope. NM State's top-flight competitor bounced back after a set one defeat to lock up a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Lang. Menard's equalizing result put the pressure on court four.
• Clarke had the upper hand early in his fourth-flight tilt with Jonathan Da Silva, claiming a 7-5 win. The Lopes' last chance, however, bounced back in a big way to win his match - and the WAC Tournament title - with 6-4, 6-4 wins in sets two and three.
COMING UP NEXT
• After clinching a share of the WAC regular season crown earlier in the year, the Aggies turn their attention to the 2021-22 season. NM State, despite not being able to play any home matches for the majority of the year, posted a 7-11 record in 2021 which featured a 3-1 showing against WAC opponents. GCU will find out where it is headed for the 2021 NCAA Tournament at 4:30 p.m. MT Monday (May 3).
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