No. 25 Aggies Rally Past No. 26 Men’s Tennis in Tight Affair

SILVER CITY, N.M. – It was the kind of match that you would expect from two of the top teams not only in the Lone Star Conference, but in the South Central Region. The No. 26 Western New Mexico University men's tennis team held a 2-1 lead after doubles, but No. 25 Cameron rallied in singles to claim the 5-4 victory Friday in conference action.

In doubles, WNMU (12-7, 1-1 LSC) won at No. 1 and No. 3 for the early 2-1 lead. The No. 3 duo of redshirt junior Tristan Da Lio (Casablanca/Academie des Hauts de Nimes)/junior Vladimir Gnilozubov (Kazakhstan, Astana/Kazakhstan) continued their winning ways with an 8-4 win at the top flight. Sophomores Blayze O'Keefe (Las Vegas, NV/Odyssey Charter)/Zachary Grabovic (South Bank, Australia/St. Kevin's College) had to fight their way to victory at No. 3 as they won in a tiebreaker 9-8 (3). Senior Jean-Laurent Pageault (Perrigny, France/Academi des Hauts de Nimes)/sophomore Liam Fraboulet (Lycée Kerraoul, Paimpol, France/Lycée Kerraoul) came close before a 7-9 loss at No. 2.

In singles, CU (13-10, 2-0 LSC) came back strong, winning the first four matches to clinch the victory. The Mustangs tallied wins at No. 2 and No. 6. O'Keefe cruised to the 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6, while Pageault rolled to a 6-2 opening set win and then fought past a tough challenge in the second set winning in a tiebreaker 7-6 (5) at No. 2. Redshirt junior Sascha Brechtel (Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany/Kurpfalz Gymnasium Mannheim ) did all he could to try and win his match at No. 5, as he lost the first set, 2-6, but came back with authority to win the second, 6-0. In the third, Brechtel went right down to the wire before he fell just short, 4-6. Da Lio went to an opening set tiebreaker in his match at No. 4, coming up just short, 6-7 (6) and then dropped the second, 2-6. Gnilozubov had a tough first set in which he lost 1-6 at No. 3, but then made things interesting in the second before a 5-7 loss. At the top flight, Fraboulet fell 2-6, 2-6.

WNMU will close out the conference portion of the regular season tomorrow (Saturday) against No. 21 Midwestern State starting at 8 a.m. at the WNMU Tennis Courts.

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Players Mentioned

Sascha Brechtel: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Tristan Da Lio: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior

Liam Fraboulet: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Vladimir Gnilozubov: 5' 8"; Junior

Blayze O'Keefe: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Jean-Laurent Pageault: 5' 11"; Senior

Zachary Grabovic: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sascha Brechtel
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Tristan Da Lio
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior

Liam Fraboulet
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Vladimir Gnilozubov
: 5' 8"; Junior

Blayze O'Keefe
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Jean-Laurent Pageault
: 5' 11"; Senior

Zachary Grabovic
: 6' 0"; Sophomore