Lopes clinch 1st outright WAC title

Friday, April 12

Seattle, Wash.

1:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

New Mexico State

4/12/2019 6:09:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

GCU clinches 1st title since 2016 with win over NMSU

By: Jerob Moon

SEATTLE — The Grand Canyon men's tennis team clinched the WAC regular season title on Friday with a 6-1 win over New Mexico State. It is the first outright title for the Lopes since joining the conference after being a co-champion in 2016.

"Huge win for the guys today," GCU head coach Greg Prudhomme said. "First of all, anytime we can beat New Mexico State is a good day on the tennis courts. We've had such a good rivalry with them since the Division I transition, so to clinch the WAC championship made it an extra-nice day."

It was the second GCU win over New Mexico State this year. The Lopes defeated the Aggies 4-0 in a nonconference match in the Golden State Invitational in March.

For the 17th time this season, GCU clinched the doubles point behind strong play from the top positions. Lorenzo Fucile and Mathieu Rajaonah won 6-4 at No. 1 while Valentin Lang and Jakub won 6-2 at No. 2. It was the 15th win of the year for Lang and Novak and made them 4-0 in WAC play.

The Lopes then took the first three singles matches. Fucile won quickly 6-1, 6-2 at the top position. Then, at No. 4, Grego won his 18th match of the year to put him within one win of the GCU Division I singles wins record set by Fucile as a freshman in 2016.

With a 3-0 lead, the Lopes needed one more win to clinch the dual and a WAC title. That win came from Grant, who earned revenge from last year's WAC Tournament. His three-set loss to Louis Menard eliminated the Lopes and pushed the Aggies to the final and, eventually, the NCAA tournament.

The sophomore from England took care of business, winning 7-5, 6-1 to earn the fourth point and the WAC title.

Lang and Novak bookended the singles with wins at Nos. 3 and 6.

"The guys deserved it," Prudhomme said. "They have been working hard all year. We've made adjustments throughout the year. Physical adjustments, tactical adjustments while improving their mental toughness. Their team spirit is always top-notch and they put it all together and played their best tennis today when it counted the most. So, I'm really proud of them and the coaching staff."

The Lopes will look to finish WAC play with a 5-0 record when they face UT Rio Grande Valley (4-18, 1-3) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Vaqueros lost 4-3 to Chicago State on Saturday.