BEAUMONT, Texas - Trailing 3-0, the NM State men's tennis team tried its hardest to mount what would have been a wild comeback, but the third-seeded Aggies bowed out of the 2022 WAC Tournament after suffering a 4-2 loss to second-seeded Abilene Christian in the semifinal round of the league's postseason soiree Saturday at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center.
DOUBLES
• NM State found itself needing to mount a comeback as soon as the doubles decisions were in the books. Gijs Akkermans and Corey Clarke suffered a narrow 6-4 defeat at the hands of Savan Chhabra and Jose Maria Rastrojo.
• It looked as though the Aggies had a chance to recapture some momentum thanks to the play of Louis Menard and Jordy Visser on the top line. NM State's number-one tandem battled back to force a decisive seventh set, but they were edged out by a 7-6 (7-5) score against the Wildcats' duo of Dario Kmet and Daniel Morozov.
SINGLES
• Staring a 1-0 deficit in the face, NM State quickly found itself backed up against a wall once singles play got going.
• Chhabra let NM State freshman Itay Feigin win just a trio of games in Feigin's 6-1, 6-2 setback on line four.
• The Aggies' deficit grew to 3-0 following a 6-3, 6-4 loss by Akkermans in his fifth-flight fracas with Cesar Barranquero.
• Behind their seniors, the Aggies began to mount a comeback. Menard managed to break up Abilene Christian's shutout bid by way of a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 top-flight triumph over Morozov.
• Minutes later, Martin Simecek played inspired tennis in sets two and three to keep NM State's chance at victory alive. Simecek shrugged off a difficult first set to claim an 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 second-flight win over Kmet.
• Within one point, NM State locked its eyes on Clarke's battle with Tyler Stewart down on line three. The Aggies' Australian forced a third set as well as a seventh game in that third frame, but suffered a heartbreaking 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) loss which clinched the match for Abilene Christian.
• At the time the match was called, Visser's third set with Oswaldo Cano in flight six action was tied at 5-5.
COMING UP NEXT
• The match was the final one in the collegiate careers of Menard and Simecek. NM State turns its attention to the offseason and hopes to make another run at a WAC regular-season title in 2022-23.
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