Feb. 10, 2009
Box Score-UNO 
DALLAS (SMU)-No. 43 SMU men's tennis (3-3) handed the No. 75 Privateers of New Orleans (6-1) their first loss (6-1) of the season at Turpin Tennis Stadium on Sunday, February 8 in match play. Junior Robin Fahgen extended his undefeated record (4-0) by scoring a win (6-3, 6-2) against UNO's top singles player, Calvin Kemp, who was riding on a six-match win streak.
Sophomore Adham el-Effendi was able to preserve his perfect singles record (3-0) as well, battling it out with Ben Smith for the third set victory and match win (6-7, 6-2, 10-5) after dropping the first set. Sophomore Darren Walsh remained undefeated, handing Jose Gaspar a straight set loss (6-4, 6-4).
"I moved Darren up to the number four spot after Chris (Hooshyar) was injured in his doubles match, and I was pleased with the way he responded to the transition. He played very well and produced a strong win in that position," said head coach Carl Neufeld.
The singles match of the night belonged to freshman Mustang David Costa, who endured through an exhausting second set tiebreaker that went 19-17 against Vinay Kamineni for the match victory (6-3, 7-6).
In doubles competition, el-Effendi and Walsh paired up to take down Privateers Smith and Gaspar in a tiebreaker (9-8), effectively ending the UNO tandem's five-match win streak. Baradach and Costa posted an easy win (8-2) against their opponents, assisting SMU in securing the doubles point. Fahgen and sophomore teammate Chris Hooshyar succumbed (6-5) to UNO, after Hooshyar suffered an injury.
"New Orleans has beaten some very good teams to rise to No. 75 in the nation, and they provided tough competition today. Despite the unfortunate injuries that keep occurring, our guys are developing and it is showing in our depth, "said Neufeld.
The Mustangs will continue play at home this Wednesday against Cameron at 2:00 p.m. before taking on Southeastern Oklahoma State at 5:00 p.m. at the Turpin Tennis Stadium.
