Shorthanded Pack falls to Montana State-Billings

Men: Montana State Billings 5, CSU-Pueblo 4
Women: Montana State Billings 5, CSU-Pueblo 4

"What could have been?" 

That was the lament of the ThunderWolves men's tennis team Friday as they dropped a close match 5-4 to Montana State-Billings at Pueblo City Park. 

The Pack women also fell by the same margin Friday.

The ThunderWolves, without number-five singles player James MacIndoe and without an adequate replacement, were forced to forfeit two matches to Billings, which was the deciding factor in a 5-4 loss.  In the day's seven matches, the Pack won four of them. 

Leading the way were the usual suspects - Beau Fresquez and Ricardo Oaxaca.  The reigning back-to-back RMAC Men's Tennis Players of the Week (Fresquez won the honor Apr. 2, Oaxaca this week), kept on a tear that is among the best in the RMAC. 

Fresquez disposed of Billings' number-one, Gabriel Diaz, by a 6-4, 6-4 margin, notching his second straight singles win and sixth in the seven matches since the spring season began.

Oaxaca extended his career-long win streak to six, edging by Rhys Hobbs in the number-two slot 7-5, 2-6 and 10-8. 

Together, Fresquez and Oaxaca made short work of Diaz and Hobbs in the doubles matchup, winning 8-5.  The combination has also won six of the seven matches of the spring season.

On the women's side, Ashley Erickson proved to be the dominant competitor for the ThunderWolves, winning her singles match over Johnna Beatty 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 following her doubles win, as she and teammate Jessica Hardy took care of Anne-Sophie Tredet and Marta Borges in quite dominant fashion, winning 8-2.  Erickson's singles win halted her two-match losing streak. 

The ThunderWolves will make their last home appearance of the season Saturday, taking on Metro State at the Pueblo Central High School tennis courts at 2:30 p.m.  Metro State comes in as the fourth ranked team in the North Central Region on the men's side.