FORT WORTH, Texas (March 7, 2026) – The UT Permian Basin men's tennis team fell 4-3 vs. Southwest Baptist University in its first match of its Spring Break trip on the evening of Friday, March 6, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center (TCU Indoor Courts).

With the match tied at 3-3 and in the third set at No. 1 singles, Joao D'Amorim came up short, falling 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 against the No. 50 nationally-ranked singles player, Alejandro Beneyto Sanchez.

Earlier in the match, UTPB won the doubles point as Philipp Gaurieder and D'Amorim defeated Federico Riolo and Romain Ramuz 6-2 at No. 3 doubles and Nehal Naidoo and Kabir Chothani were victorious 7-5 in a comeback win over Oliver Kocanovic and Alexandru Marinescu in the top spot. It was the first win together for Naidoo and Chothani in three tries at No. 1 doubles so far this season while Gaurieder and D'Amorim improved to 2-1 at No. 3 doubles.

UTPB then led 2-1 after Lucas Nakasato defeated Bojan Radoman 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. It was Nakasato's first match playing at No. 2 singles so far this season.

The Falcons led 3-2 and were one match away from claiming the victory as a team after Naidoo earned a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Ramuz at No. 3 singles.

However, the Falcons were defeated in straight sets in each of the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots, setting up the winner-take-all match against a nationally-ranked opponent at No. 1 singles.

Making his season debut in the match for UTPB was Christian Lopez.

"The men competed really well," said UTPB Head Tennis Coach Chris Tolson. "We won the dubs point, Nehal and Kabir had a huge comeback from 4-1 down to clinch the doubles point. All the guys did well, but Nehal and Lucas stood out the most this evening with dominating performances in singles. Unfortunately, we were not able to close out the match, but this group is learning and getting better from every match."
 
Results:
Doubles

• #1 – Nehal Naidoo/Kabir Chothani (UTPB) def. Oliver Kocanovic/Alexandru Marinescu (SBU) 7-5
• #2 – Alejandro Beneyto Sanchez/Juani Morresi (SBU) def. Lucas Nakasato/Christian Lopez (UTPB) 6-0
• #3 – Philipp Gaurieder/Joao D'Amorim (UTPB) def. Federico Riolo/Romain Ramuz (SBU) 6-2
• Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles

• #1 – No. 50 Alejandro Beneyto Sanchez (SBU) def. Joao D'Amorim (UTPB) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
• #2 – Lucas Nakasato (UTPB) def. Bojan Radoman (SBU) 6-1, 6-0
• #3 – Nehal Naidoo (UTPB) def. Romain Ramuz (SBU) 6-3, 6-0
• #4 – Federico Riolo (SBU) def. Kabir Chothani (UTPB) 6-2, 6-1
• #5 – Juani Morresi (SBU) def. Philipp Gaurieder (UTPB) 6-2, 6-3
• #6 – Oliver Kocanovic (SBU) def. Christian Lopez (UTPB) 6-3, 6-4
• Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5, 3, 6, 1

Team Records:

• UTPB falls to 1-6 while SBU improves to 2-6.