April 20, 2002

The University of Denver men's tennis team dropped its first match in the backdraw at the Sun Belt Conference Championships, losing to New Mexico State, 4-2, Saturday (Apr. 20). The Pioneers will face Western Kentucky for seventh place.

Denver earned one victory on the doubles courts, but lost two, giving NMSU the first point of the match. Denver's lone doubles win came on the second court as seniors Jay Patel and Trevor Young teamed up to top New Mexico State's Ben Archer-Cloves and Dan Even (8-6). Both Denver losses, however, were close as the Pioneers forced tie-breakers in each.

Trailing 1-0 in the match, Denver attempted the comeback at singles. Sophomore Urban Ljubic was the first Pioneer to finish as he defeated Be Newcombe (6-3, 6-0) on the second court. After NMSU regained the lead with a victory at No. 4 singles, the Pioneers once again pulled even on court three as Patel defeated Archer-Cloves (6-3, 6-3). That was as close as Denver would get, however, as New Mexico State won on courts five and six, giving the Aggies the four points necessary for the victory. The Pioneers did force three sets in the final two matches at No. 5 and No. 6, but NMSU held on for the win. Senior Magnus Ramfelt did not finish at No. 1 singles.

The Pioneers will look to finish in seventh place at the SBC tournament with a match against Western Kentucky later this afternoon (Apr. 20). The Pioneers and Hilltoppers will square off at 2 p.m. MT.

RESULTS
Singles
#1 - Magnus Ramfelt (DEN) Did Not Finish vs. Michael Hellwig
#2 - Urban Ljubic (DEN) def. Ben Newcombe, 6-3, 6-0
#3 - Jay Patel (DEN) def. Ben Archer-Cloves, 6-3, 6-3
#4 - Luis Avila (NMSU) def. Hans Peter Gaber, 6-3, 7-5
#5 - D. Zivanovic (NMSU) def. Jason Tan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
#6 - Dan Even (NMSU) def. Trevor Young, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

Doubles
#1 - Newcombe/Avila (NMSU) def. Ramfelt/Ljubic, 9-7
#2 - Patel/Young (DEN) def. Archer-Cloves/Even, 8-6
#3 - Hellwig/Ludovic Barthe (NMSU) def. Lachlan Menzies/Gaber, 9-8