LUBBOCK, Texas – Courtesy of Texas Tech athletics

The No. 18-ranked Texas Tech men’s tennis team closed out the weekend with a pair of wins against New Mexico and UTSA at the McLeod Tennis Center on Sunday.

Tech is 12-4 on the season and 6-0 in matches played in Lubbock following Sunday’s matches.

“I’m really happy with these two wins,” head coach Daniel Whitehead said. “Mentally and physically, these matches were tough today. The morning match with New Mexico was a tough, hard-fought win and we had to regroup before playing UTSA. I thought we did a really good job of coming out strong against the Roadrunners and overall I’m very pleased with the way we fought today.”

The Red Raiders began their day by taking their second doubles point in the last three matches with wins by Reed Collier and Parker Wynn and Bjorn Thomson and Ilgiz Valiev.

In singles, Tech jumped out to an early lead by taking two singles matches, beginning with a 7-6(4), 6-2 effort by Thomson on court six. Thomson’s win was the eighth of the dual match season for the senior.

Sophomore Franco Ribero provided the third match point for the Red Raiders in straight sets on court four, downing his opponent 6-3, 7-6(5). Ribero is now 9-0 on the year, a team best.

With the fourth match point on the line, No. 123 Collier rallied after dropping the first set to clinch at a 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(2) clip.

In total, the Red Raiders faced six seventh-point tiebreakers in their match with the Lobos, prevailing in four of them.

Against the Roadrunners, the Red Raiders once again secured the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.

With four wins on the weekend, Thomson extended his position atop the all-time program mark for doubles wins at 87 career victories, held previously by Red Raider great Gonzalo Escobar, who is currently making waves on the ATP Challenger Tour with multiple doubles titles.

“Bjorn is one of the best and most decorated players in our program’s history,” Whitehead said. “He’s playing well this season. Since the first day I arrived in Lubbock, he’s always had an incredible work ethic and desire to be great.”

The Red Raiders struck first in singles play against the Roadrunners by taking all six first sets. Valiev, who is currently ranked No. 73, capped off a 2-0 weekend in matches that were played out by knocking off Rodriguez in straight sets on court two, 6-4, 6-0.

Freshman Connor Johnson moved to 6-0 to begin his Red Raider career by defeating Sanson of UTSA 6-2, 6-4 on court six, giving Tech the 3-0 advantage.

Collier sealed the match once again for the Red Raiders with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court four.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders will return to the McLeod Tennis Center on Friday, March 6th to face off with the Golden Knights of Central Florida. UCF is currently ranked No. 33.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the Texas Tech men’s tennis program. Fans are also encouraged to follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/techmenstennis and @TexasTechMTEN on Twitter and Instagram. 

New Mexico 1 | No. 18 Texas Tech 4