SMU Tennis Takes 2 On Friday
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU Mustangs men’s tennis team improved to 13-2 with a pair of wins on Friday at the Ann and Brad Brookshire Family Pavilion at the SMU Tennis Complex. SMU beat Sacramento State 5-0, and followed with a 7-0 win over Texas-Pan American.
SMU’s 13-2 record is its best through 15 matches since 2001, when head coach Carl Neufeld led the Mustangs to a 24-3 overall record and an NCAA semifinal appearance.
The Mustangs went unbeaten in doubles on Friday, extending their streak to 12 straight doubles points secured. Sophomore Arkadijs Slobodkins and junior Nate Lammons improved to 9-0 this spring with a pair of wins, while sophomore Markus Kerner and senior Arturs Kazijevs jumped to 7-2 with two victories. Sophomore Tony Russell and freshman Samm Butler earned a win over Sacramento State, improving their record to 7-1 this season.
Lammons took the first singles point of the day with a 6-1, 6-3 win over
Kasparas Zemaitelis of Sacramento State at the No. 3 spot, 6. Freshman Charles Nettlefold won at No. 6 over Chris Clayton, 6-2, 6-1, before Slobodkins clinched the match for SMU with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 5 over Tom Miller. Kerner’s match at No. 1 ended soon after, with the Estonia-native beating Sean Kolar 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1.
Kerner kept his momentum going into the evening match versus UTPA, winning 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 over Hector Ramirez. Lammons then won at No. 4 over Miguel Alvarez-Hevia, 6-2, 6-0. Nettlefold took the match-clinching win, beating Nikola Crvelin 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5. Wins from Butler, sophomore Julio Olaya and Kazijevs gave SMU the 7-0 match win.
Butler extended his personal singles unbeaten streak to 10 after Friday. He and doubles partner Russell are also undefeated in their last 10 doubles matches. Lammons became the third Mustang to reach 10 singles wins this spring, and the Texas-native now leads the team with 18 combined wins in the 2014-15 campaign.
On Thursday, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its first national attendance rankings, with SMU leading the country in total attendance thus far, totaling over 3,000 fans at the new SMU Tennis Complex through February.
SMU will hit the road next, going out west for a pair of matches in California. SMU will face Pepperdine on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT, before playing at Cal Poly on March 13 at 1 p.m. CT.
