Kansas City
NM State
Men's Tennis Postseason Run Ends with New Mexico State
4/27/2019 6:23:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BROWNSVILLE, Texas. – The UMKC men's tennis team (10-12) fell short in the WAC Semifinals against No. 2 seed New Mexico State, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon in a repeat of last year's WAC Championship contest.
Dominating Seattle U on Friday, the Roos could never hit their stride against the Aggies in both doubles and singles play.
Neil O'Connor and Tom Kruse kept UMKC alive in the No. 3 spot to clinch the doubles point but New Mexico State would defeat Diego Giraldo and Ben Stride in the No. 1 spot to move into singles play, 1-0.
Entering Saturday's match, Stride and Giraldo held a nine-match winning streak in doubles play. The loss in the No. 1 spot is their first as a pairing since Mar. 17th at Wichita State.
As singles play began, UMKC displayed grit and determination as five of the six spots competed into a third set.
The lone point on the afternoon for the Roos came from Stride, who defeated his opponent in the No. 2 spot with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
In the WAC Tournament, UMKC is 1-4 versus New Mexico State since joining the conference back in the 2013-14 season.
Doubles
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
1. Menard, Louis/Asmar, Enrique (NMSU) def. Diego Giraldo/Ben Stride (UMKC) 6-4
2. de Haan, Stijn/Benitez, Mauri (NMSU) def. Hunter Clark/Anil Patel (UMKC) 6-3
3. Neil O'Connor/Tom Kruse (UMKC) def. Buitrago, Nicolas/Flores, Luis (NMSU) 6-3
Singles
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2, 3
1. de Haan, Stijn (NMSU) def. Diego Giraldo (UMKC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
2. Ben Stride (UMKC) def. Menard, Louis (NMSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
3. Simecek, Martin (NMSU) def. Tom Kruse (UMKC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Benitez, Mauri (NMSU) vs. Hunter Clark (UMKC) 6-1, 3-6, 5-4, unfinished
5. Asmar, Enrique (NMSU) vs. Neil O'Connor (UMKC) 6-3, 4-6, 2-3, unfinished
6. Buitrago, Nicolas (NMSU) def. Anil Patel (UMKC) 6-4, 6-0
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Players Mentioned
