ABILENE, Texas – The ACU men's tennis team picked up a thrilling victory on Friday afternoon, defeating future WAC rival UT Arlington 4-3, and the Purple and White have now won back-to-back matches on their home courts.
Dario Kmet closed out the day with the clinching point in dramatic fashion,
sending Eager Tennis Pavilion into a frenzy.
INSIDE THE MATCH:
- Host: Abilene Christian
- Site: Eager Tennis Pavilion
- Location: Abilene, Texas
HEAD COACH JUAN NUNEZ
(on the match as a whole):
- "I tell our guys all the time that when you are in these types of matches, it goes beyond your forehand and your back hand. It comes down to how much we enjoy that level of competition and how together we are. The beauty of college tennis is that even though it seems like it's an individual sport, everyone played their part today. Seeing the kind of energy and passion our guys had when things weren't pretty, that was more than tennis."
HEAD COACH JUAN NUNEZ
(on Dario Kmet's clinching point):
- "If there's anybody we want having to deal with cramping and pushing through that to get it done, it's Dario. You always have one or two guys like that, and his experience plays a huge role for us. He knew it was okay to throw away some points to save himself for the important ones. Since the first time I talked to him, his passion for competition has been unmatched. If today doesn't summarize that, nothing will. He's the glue of our team, and he was incredible for us against UTA.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Daniel Morozov and Savan Chhabra made quick work of UTA's top doubles team, picking up a 6-1 victory.
- The Wildcat tandem of Mihaly Deli and Jose Maria Rastrojo picked up a 6-4 win on Court 3, clinching the first point of the day.
- Kmet and Riley Tran were up 5-4 at the time of the doubles clinch.
- Morozov followed his strong double performance with a 6-0, 6-4 victory on Court 1 to start singles action.
- The Mavericks got on the board with a win in #5 singles, but Cesar Barranquero put the Wildcats on the heels of a clinch with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the fourth flight.
- UTA prevailed in the third flight to pull the match even at 3-3, turning all eyes to Court 2, where Kmet battled UTA's Miguel Cabrera.
- Kmet took the first set 6-0 before falling 7-5 in a tiebreaker in the second set. After battling through muscle cramps midway through the third set, Kmet came back to pull out the 6-4 victory and help lift ACU to a 4-3 win.
UP NEXT:
- The Wildcats now hit the road, heading to Rice on Sunday before taking part in Texas A&M Corpus Christi's H-E-B Invitational the following weekend. Fans can follow along with all the action in Houston by clicking here.
#GoWildcats
