LAWTON, Okla. (April 6, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's tennis team led 2-1 and had a chance to earn a nationally-ranked win on the road at No. 30 Cameron University, but the Falcons were unable to seal the deal against the Aggies and fell by a score of 5-2 on Monday.
UTPB was swept in doubles, including a great battle by
Andrew Hunsley and
Nehal Naidoo against the No. 5 nationally-ranked doubles pair in NCAA Division II, Lukas Janousek and Noe Milliard, at No. 1 doubles. Hunsley and Naidoo just came up short in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5). Janousek and Milliard are 6-2 in the Spring season at No. 1 doubles for the Aggies, including a dominating 6-1 win against the No. 7-ranked pair of Mattia Ghedin and Kelly Giese from No. 13 Lubbock Christian University last Friday.
UTPB won the first set in each of the top-four singles matches, giving itself a chance to try and earn the team win, but could not hold on to win in two of those matches.
Lucas Nakasato started off singles with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Milliard in the two-hole, and Naidoo followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Santiago Ledesma in the three-spot, giving UTPB a 2-1 lead overall.
Unfortunately, UTPB fell in three-set comebacks at both No. 1 and No. 4 singles.
In the top spot,
Joao D'Amorim was unable to hold off No. 8 nationally-ranked Janousek in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision. Last Fall, Janousek won the ITA South Central Regional Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia. Janousek is currently 7-2 in the Spring season at No. 1 singles for the Aggies.
In the four spot,
Kabir Chothani fell 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 vs. Abubakari Yakubu-Lea.
Now trailing 3-2, UTPB would need to win at both No. 5 and No. 6 singles to steal the match, but would have no such luck.
In the regional rankings for men's tennis from the Fall, the Aggies had a trio of singles players ranked in the top-20. In the South Central Region, Janousek was ranked No. 2, Milliard was ranked No. 12, and Ledesma was ranked No. 18.
Results:
Doubles
Singles
- #1 – No. 8 Lukas Janousek (CU) def. Joao D'Amorim (UTPB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
- #2 – Lucas Nakasato (UTPB) def. Noe Milliard (CU) 6-4, 6-1
- #3 – Nehal Naidoo (UTPB) def. Santiago Ledesma (CU) 6-3, 6-2
- #4 – Abubakari Yakubu-Lea (CU) def. Kabir Chothani (UTPB) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
- #5 – Ulysse Esphahani (CU) def. Andrew Hunsley (UTPB) 6-2, 6-4
- #6 – Zoheir Fardoun (CU) def. Enrique Silveira (UTPB) 6-2, 6-0
- Order of Finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 6, 5
Team Records:
- UTPB falls to 4-11 overall and 1-3 in the Lone Star Conference while No. 30 Cameron improves to 7-4 and 1-2.
- It was the end of a two-matching winning streak for the Falcons over the Aggies. UTPB had previously defeated Cameron 4-3 last season after earning its first-ever win (5-2) in 12 matches against the defending LSC champion Aggies in 2024.
Next Up: UT Permian Basin plays its only two home matches of the season. The Falcons will host No. 14 Lubbock Christian University starting at 12 p.m. on Friday, April 10, followed by St. Mary's University starting at 11 a.m. the next day on Saturday, April 11. Both matches will be played at the Bush Tennis Center in Midland, Texas.
