SAN ANTONIO – After a comfortable 7-0 win against the Occidental Tigers yesterday, the 11th-ranked Trinity University Men's Tennis team tested themselves in a double header match-up against a strong NCAA Division 1 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi team.
On an arduous day at the
Butch Newman Tennis center, the Tigers battled hard throughout but lost the morning match 7-0 and the afternoon match 5-2. Despite the result, the day's performances were far from a one-sided affair, with all matchups proving close encounters.
The doubles started off in excellent fashion as the dynamic #2 partnership of
Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep) and
Aashish Dhanani (Austin, Texas / Westwood) fought to a brilliant 6-4 win over their DI opponents. Next to finish was the #3 duo of
Conor Kaczmarczyk (Aurora, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) and
Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) who took their opponents right to the end but lost 7-5, equalising the scoreline in the doubles. It was left all up to the reliable #1 partnership of
Rocco Mendez (Las Vegas, Nev. / Odyssey Charter School) and
Kishan Kersten (Plano, Texas / West) to secure the doubles point. They battled all the way through to a tiebreak; however, they ended up losing the match 7-6 (7-2), handing the doubles point to the Islanders.
With the Islanders 1-0 up, the Tigers looked to redeem themselves in the singles. Things didn't look to be heading the right direction as the sophomores
Ethan Ruppaner (Amarillo, Texas / Tascosa) at #6, and
Ivan Nikolovski (Alpine, N.J. / Dwight Global) at #5, played to identical results, unfortunately losing in straight sets 6-1, 6-1, and putting the Islanders 3-0 up. The next match to finish was Kaczmarczyk at #4. Needing a win to keep the tigers in the tie, the powerful Kaczmarczyk fought hard, but lost in two close sets 6-4, 6-4, unfortunately handing the win to the Islanders. The resilience of the Trinity team has to be commended as after accepting defeat there were still 3 close and competitive matches played. The ever-present
Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) at #1 was next to finish, suffering yet another agonising result, losing 6-2, 6-4. Dhanani at #3 produced a similar encounter as he was also defeated in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. The closest match of the afternoon was played out by the freshman Mendez at #2. He took his opponent to a super tiebreak after losing the first set 6-4 but winning the second set 6-3. Mendez fought a commendable performance to try and prevent a sweep of wins for the Islanders, however, he unfortunately lost the super tiebreak 10-7.
Later in the afternoon, the doubles action was a repeat of the morning with both Dhanani and Liao at #2 and Mendez and Kersten at #1 losing their matches 6-4. Flores and Kaczmarczyk at #3 produced the closest match of the doubles, winning in the tiebreak 7-6 (8-6). But it was too little too late as the Islanders had already earned the doubles point prior to the match.
Singles action was a much closer affair than the morning with the Tigers picking up two wins this afternoon. The first to finish was the superb sophomore Flores at #5, who had an unfortunate day at the net and lost once again, this time 6-2, 6-2. A similar result was repeated at #6, as
Hai Vo (Binh Duong, Vietnam / Harvest Christian Academy (Texas)) entered the tennis action for the first time today. The Sophomore fought hard but lost in two close sets 6-3, 7-5. This put the Islanders 3-0 up and on the brink of victory. However, Perry at #1 produced an excellent comeback performance, having lost the first set 6-2, he came back and won the 2nd and 3rd set, 6-4, 6-2 to put Trinity on the board for the first time today. This jubilation was short lived as the Islanders quickly wrapped up the win versus Dhanani at #3. The match started well for him, winning the first set 7-5, however, after an exceptional showing it went downhill from here as he lost the following two, 6-4, 6-3. Liao at #4 also produced a close match-up this afternoon, taking his opponent right to the end in three sets. He produced a valiant effort in attempting a comeback after winning the 2nd set 7-5, however, he had already lost the first 6-2 and then subsequently lost the third 6-4, giving the Islanders their 4th point of the afternoon. The final match of an action-packed day of Tennis, featuring Kersten at # 2, was the most exciting and closest of all. Having won the first set in thrilling fashion in the tiebreak 7-6 (9-7), he then lost the 2nd set 6-4 but held his nerve and won the final set 6-4, giving the Tigers their 2nd point of the afternoon. This wrapped up a memorable but challenging day of tennis for the Tigers, against a formidable NCAA DI opponent.
Next Up
The 11th-ranked Trinity University Men's Tennis team travels to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (CA) in Claremont, California to participate in the Stag-Hen Invitational. First up for them is a match against 19th-ranked John Hopkins University (MD), on Friday March 21st at 10:00 a.m. (PT).
