SMU’s David Kuczer returns the ball during the match against UIC at Bent Tree Tennis Center. (Sarah Acosta)

The sun made a long awaited appearance on Wednesday at the No. 61 SMU men’s tennis match at the Bent Tree Country Club. The Mustangs defeated the University of Texas-Arlington 5-2, making the team 14-8 for the season and extending its win streak to seven matches.

This was UTA’s third consecutive day of play. The Mavericks lost 4-1 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday and 7-0 to No. 4 Baylor on Tuesday before meeting the Mustangs yesterday. UTA is now 9-10 heading into Sunday’s match against conference opponent Lamar. SMU took less than an hour to secure the doubles point, winning all three matches.

In singles, SMU players caused their own errors more often than they were beaten by Maverick finesse. At No. 1, junior No. 72 Alex Skrypko fell to Diego Mattar 7-5, 7-5. David Kuczer defended the No. 2 singles spot again for the Mustangs. He battled Daniel Omana for three sets before earning a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 win.

The entire squad moved well around the courts and seemed confident in their individual play. At No. 3, Federico Murgier stretched Alberto Agis to three sets 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Murgier, a senior, won the majority of his points at the net, sneaking angled volleys past his opponent. Agis managed a few passing shots and baseline winners early, but Murgier pulled out the win.

Junior Oivind Alver did not play singles against UTA, but cheered for his teammates from the sidelines. His doubles partner, freshman Robin Faghen, took his usual spot at No. 4. He defeated Javier Herrera in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

With Alver out, Adolfo Solares and Chris Hooshyar each moved up, playing No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Solares’ power proved too much for UTA’s Dmitry Minkin. He fell 6-3, 6-3 to Solares.

Hooshyar notched the other loss for the Mustangs 6-4, 6-3 against Gonzalo Bienzobas. He holds a 1-3 record at No. 6 singles.

SMU hits the road to face conference opponent Rice on Friday April 13 in Houston.