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Freshman Ellison Minnaar prepares to receive the ball during a match against Wichita State University on Feb. 27 at the UTA Tennis Center. Minnaar and his partner, junior Yazid Lahjomri, won their doubles match 6-4.<\/p>\n
Photo by Lan Anh Le <\/a><\/p>\n UTA men\u2019s tennis (0-6) dropped its home opener 4-0 against Wichita State University (7-7) Friday at the UTA Tennis Center. <\/p>\n The Mavericks entered their matchup after two away matches in the H-E-B Tournament of Champions and three games at their home venue were canceled. UTA\u2019s last competition was Feb. 8, leaving nearly all of February dedicated to training and preparation. <\/p>\n The team has suffered a handful of injuries, including a season-ending one from freshman Jesse Gothelf, who joined the Mavericks in the fall semester. <\/p>\n Freshman Ellison Minnaar prepares to receive the ball during a match against Wichita State University on Feb. 27 at the UTA Tennis Center. Minnaar lost his first singles match 7-5 and his second match 6-1.<\/p>\n Photo by Lan Anh Le<\/a><\/p>\n Junior Yazid Lahjomri serves during a match against Wichita State University on Feb. 27 at the UTA Tennis Center. Lahjomri\u2019s singles match was left unfinished.<\/p>\n Photo by Lan Anh Le<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThat’s going to leave us with five guys for a while until one of them can recover,\u201d head coach Diego Benitez said. \u201cWe have a bunch of roll ankles. That’s unfortunate. So today we had to play with five, and it’s tough to start.\u201d <\/p>\n Benitez said that with the injuries, there is nothing the team can do for now except stay in their lane, adding that it’s a double-edged sword because they are able to relax and play freely with the players who are in form, but the matches become more important due to the limited margin of error. <\/p>\n UTA went into doubles against Wichita State, donating the first point due to a forfeit, a result of the injuries the team has been burdened with. UTA found rhythm on the other two courts in flat serves and pressure high on the net but ultimately could not secure an opening score heading into singles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Junior Yazid Lahjomri and freshman Ellison Minnaar exchanged leads and broke through on a 6-4 win backed by multiple points earned by powerful serves.\u00a0<\/p>\n Minnaar, who joined ahead of the spring season, said the coaching staff has had his back from day one, even helping him move into his apartment. He said training has been tough, but support from the team has helped him settle in.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sophomore Finbar McGarvey and junior Sa\u00fal Berdullas Calvi\u00f1o dropped their match, but not before they mounted a slight comeback, finding energy and teamwork as contributing factors. The duo faltered, however, failing to capture UTA\u2019s opening doubles point. <\/p>\n Singles was filled with highs and lows, as half the Mavericks left the court unfinished while others were swept by straight sets, denying any points for UTA. Capping UTA\u2019s performance was Lahjomri, who displayed his seniority on the team as he led in a tightly contested match that was cut short with his own point earned and the second game at 4-3. <\/p>\n The UTA men\u2019s tennis team huddles before a match against Wichita State University on Feb. 27 at the UTA Tennis Center. UTA lost 4-0.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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