WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Junior Mateo Besada's performances in singles and doubles matches for the Metropolitan State University of Denver men's tennis team had positive outcomes, but were not enough to overcome St. Edward's (Texas) on Thursday in a 4-1 loss at the Midwestern State University Tennis Center.

The Roadrunners fall to 2-4 on the year while the Hilltoppers, the No. 3 team in NCAA Division II's South Central Region, improved to 7-3.

"It's obviously a disappointing result for the guys," MSU Denver coach Josh Graetz said. "I cannot fault their intensity and energy but sometimes that isn't enough. We simply weren't good enough on the big points, and St. Edward's took advantage."

Besada's play in No. 4 singles gave the Roadrunners their lone point when he bested sophomore Gabriel Zuniga of the Hilltoppers, 6-3, in straight sets.

He also teamed up with senior Joey Tscherne in No. 1 doubles to beat sophomore Luis Diaz and freshman Anish Sriniketh, the No. 16 player in NCAA Division II, by a score of 6-2.

Tscherne and junior Alejandro Martinez-Morilla each faced nationally ranked opponents in No. 1 singles and No. 3 singles, respectively, both holding their own in losses. Tscherne suffered a 6-2 loss in the first set to Sriniketh before falling in the second set by a narrower margin of 6-4.
Martinez-Morilla managed to take No. 11-ranked junior Chase Bartlett to extra games in the first set before surrendering, 7-5. Martinez-Morilla was trailing Bartlett in the second set, 2-0, before SEU was declared the overall winner.

Sophomore Daniel Llorente fell to Diaz in No. 2 singles, 6-4, in straight sets.

Freshman David Kijak won the first set of No. 5 singles, 6-3, before senior Mateus de Col battled back in the second set to win, 7-5, in a match that ended unfinished. Sophomore Kacey Walisundara rounded out the Roadrunners' competition and was beat in both sets by senior Logan Buignet (6-0, 6-1).

Kijak and Martinez-Morilla stayed close to de Col and senior Chase Morehouse but ultimately fell, 6-4, in No. 2 doubles. Elsewhere, Llorente and Walisundara were defeated by junior Zac Robinson and Bartlett in No. 3 doubles, 6-1.

MSU Denver continues its road trip on Friday with an 8 a.m. MST start time against Southern Arkansas (9-2). The match will also be held at the MSU Tennis Center in Wichita Falls, Texas.
 
St Edward's (Texas) 4, MSU Denver 1

Doubles
No. 1: Joey Tscherne/Mateo Besada (MSUD) def. Luis Diaz/Anish Sriniketh, 6-2
No. 2: Mateus de Col/Chase Morehouse (SEU) def. David Kijak/Alejandro Martinez-Morilla, 6-4
No. 3: Zac Robinson/Chase Bartlett (SEU) def. Daniel Llorente/Kacey Walisundara, 6-1
Singles
No. 1: Sriniketh (SEU) def. Tscherne, 6-2, 6-4
No. 2: Diaz (SEU) def. Llorente, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Bartlett (SEU) vs. Martinez-Morilla, 7-5, 2-0 (unfinished)
No. 4: Besada (MSUD) def. Gabriel Zuniga 6-3, 6-3
No. 5: de Col (SEU) def. Kijak, 3-6, 7-5 (unfinished)
No. 6: Logan Buignet (SEU) def. Walisundara, 6-0, 6-1