May 11, 2008

WACO, Texas -The No. 40 SMU men's tennis team lost a heartbreaker to No. 25 Texas A&M, 4-1, in the first round of NCAA action Saturday. The Mustangs end their season with a 20-9 mark, the team's best overall record since 2001.

The Mustangs quickly found themselves down by one as the Aggies won the doubles point. David Kuczer and Robin Fahgen faced the No. 20 pair in the country at No.1, but dropped a hard-fought match, 8-3. Alex Skrypko and Adolfo Solares were out-matched at No. 3, falling 8-2. Oivind Alver and Chris Hooshyar were down, 6-5, at No. 2 when the point was decided.

"I thought we played very good doubles," said head coach Carl Neufeld. "Texas A&M just played exceptionally well."

Down 1-0, the Mustangs tried to mount a comeback in singles play. Fahgen, Alver and Hooshyar each won their first sets, putting pressure on the Aggies. Kuczer played a close match at No. 1, forcing his first set to extra points. Solares was the first Mustang out, dropping his match at No. 5, 6-2, 6-0. Skrypko found his 12-match win streak ended with a 6-3, 6-0 loss at No. 2. Kuczer was defeated by 26th-ranked Conor Pollock at No. 1, 7-5, 6-2, to decide the match.

Fahgen won his first set, dropped the second and was behind in the third when the match was called. Likewise, Alver won his first, lost his second and was down, 1-0, in his third.

Hooshyar picked up the Mustangs' only win of the day, notching an impressive 6-0, 7-6 (6) win over Mike Beatty.

"We were winning three singles matches and they were winning three matches," said Neufeld. "I was impressed with how well we fought back after doubles. We just weren't quite able to turn it around."

"It was a great season," remarked Neufeld. "The guys all improved dramatically. It's hard to lose, but I'm excited about our improvement and I'm very proud of the seniors."