LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's tennis team battled with Kansas City taking the match all the way to the final court but fell 3-4 on Saturday at the NM State Tennis Center.
 
With the match tied at 3-3, it all came down to singles court two between senior Yehonatan Kaufman and Ben Stride. It was Kaufman who opened the match with a 6-3 but fell in the second set 1-6. It was a close third set as it was tied at six games each forcing a tiebreaker as Stride got to seven points first to clinch the win.
 
UTRGV (3-17, 0-2 WAC) came out looking to get ahead in the match and it did by taking the doubles point. Juniors Clément Sarradin and Mateo Schmit got things rolling with a 6-3 win over Tom Kruse and Daniel Izadifar on court three.
 
Kaufman and freshman George Hutchings followed with a 6-4 victory over Hunter Clark and Anil Patel on court two to clinch the point. 
 
Kansas City (6-10, 1-1 WAC) got on the board with a win on singles court one before freshman Te Kani Williams got the 6-1, 6-3 victory over Neil O'Conner on court five extending UTRGV's lead to 2-1. 
 
Kansas City answered with a win on court three to tie the match before sophomore Zane Kohrs got UTRGV the 3-2 lead with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Patel on court six. Kansas City got a win on singles court four to send it to the final court.
 
UTRGV will close out the weekend with Seattle U on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the NM State Tennis Center.  
 
Complete Results
Singles (1,5,3,6,4,2)
1. Diego Giraldo (UMKC) def. Samuel de Felipe Garcia (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-1
2. Ben Stride (UMKC) def. Yehonatan Kaufman (UTRGV) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (2)
3. Tom Kruse (UMKC) def. George Hutchings (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-4
4. Hunter Clark (UMKC) def. Clément Sarradin (UTRGV) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
5. Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) def. Neil O'Conner (UMKC) 6-1, 6-3
6. Zane Kohrs (UTRGV) def. Anil Patel (UMKC) 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles (3,2,1)
1. Diego Giraldo/Ben Stride (UMKC) def. Zane Kohrs/Samuel de Felipe Garcia (UTRGV) 6-3
2. George Hutchings/Yehonatan Kaufman (UTRGV) def. Hunter Clark/Anil Patel (UMKC) 6-4
3. Clément Sarradin/Mateo Schmit (UTRGV) def. Tom Kruse/Daniel Izadifar (UMKC) 6-3

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