Pack tennis gets 5-4 win

With the 5-4 win over Mesa State in Grand Junction Sunday, the CSU-Pueblo men’s tennis team finished the fall portion of their season with a 3-1 record, including an undefeated 4-0 start by number-two singles player Beau Fresquez.

Fresquez, a junior and a graduate of Pueblo South high school, has displayed a great deal of dominance in the four fall matches, winning each of his matches in straight sets prior to his match Sunday with Mesa State’s Nick Provenza, narrowly losing the first set before winning the next two.

Against Colorado Christian, Fresquez took up the number-one singles mantle, defeating Clint Walder 6-3, 6-1.

“Beau is a tough player and he always finds a way to win,” Pack coach Tom Durham said. “No matter where we put him, whether it’s at number-one or number-two, he always does his best to come through.”

The Pack’s number-one singles player, Ricardo Oaxaca, had won three of this four matches, only losing to one of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s top tennis players, Metro State’s Sascha Ruckelshausen, in a close 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (7) match.

Against Mesa State’s Jordan Chomko Sunday, Oaxaca, who defeated Chomko in straight sets in a Sep. 14 meeting, showed he can win when he’s challenge, triumphing with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 10-8 victory.

“Ricardo is steady like a rock,” Durham said. “He has a great deal of experience at high level matches, and it has shown this season and throughout his collegiate career.”

The rest of the Pack’s tennis squad has shown marked improvement this fall and made strides toward a good showing during the upcoming spring season.

Number-six singles player James MacIndoe has gone 2-2 in the fall, showing stark improvements in his game, Durham said.

Number-three player Andres Morales joined the team late and but started getting wins, but has put up a perfect 2-0 record in his single matches.

Number-four and -five players, Mitch Joyce and Kyle Eads, have also had strong showings and shown that there isn’t a weak link on the Pack’s squad. More than anything, Durham said, the confidence is rising among the team.

“The fall season has been a great confidence-builder for us,” Durham said. “The only team we lost to was Metro, one of the toughest teams around, but we certainly showed we can compete with anybody.”

The men’s tennis team will break for the winter before returning to the court Mar. 15 with a visit to a tournament in Maryville, Mo. when they face three teams in three days.

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