Toledo's Sornlaksup eliminated in first round of NCAA tournament

STILLWATER, Okla. — University of Toledo senior Pawit Sornlaksup made Rocket history with his appearance Monday in the individual NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, but his tournament run did not last long.

Sornlaksup lost in the first round to Arizona’s Colton Smith 6-4, 6-3. Smith advanced to the round of 32 of the week-long tournament hosted by Oklahoma State.

Smith, ranked No. 22 in the country, broke Sornlaksup’s serve late in the first set for a 5-4 lead, then closed out the set with a service game win. He broke again in the first and last games of the second set to complete the victory. The match lasted 1 hour, 28 minutes.

Sornlaksup, a native of Thailand, was the first Rocket to compete in the national individual tournament and entered the week with a No. 65 national ranking. He is a three-time Mid-American Conference player of the year and helped lead UT to conference titles in each of the past two seasons. The Rockets lost to Illinois in the first round of the team NCAA tournament on May 3.