Wichita State was not able to capitalize on close matches and lost 4-1 to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, ranked 39, Saturday.

The doubles team of Tomislav Gregurovic/Tin Ostojic were able to win their match 8-6. Ilija Cuic/Jocelyn Devilliers dropped their match in a close one, 8-7. Guillermo Nicol/Guillermo de Vilchez fought hard, but dropped their match by the same score, 8-7.

“Tough loss for the team after losing doubles in tie-breaks,” Gregurovic said. “We’ll have to learn from this to prepare for conference play.”

Sitting in a 0-1 hole, WSU would have to win four of the following six singles matches to win the dual match.

Gregurovic was able to tie the match at 1-1 when he won his three-set match 6-0, 0-6, 6-2. Cuic dropped his match 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 to Felipe Soares allowing the Red Raiders to recapture and keep the lead.

“I was able to maintain focus over some crucial points,” Gregurovic said. “It came down to a few points in the third set.”

Nicol lost in straight sets 7-6, 6-3 to his opponent and the match was clinched when de Vilchez lost his match 6-1, 7-6. Play was suspended when the other two matches were in their third set.

“It was a tough match and I lost focus in the second part of my match,” Ostojic said. “We’ll use this loss to motivate us and we’ll bring higher energy so that we can finish strong in home matches.”

WSU men’s tennis plays again at 5 p.m. March 11 against Lamar at Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex on the WSU campus.