CLAREMONT, Calif. – The 11th-ranked Trinity University Men's Tennis Team put up a valiant fight in both matches to start the Stag-Hen Classic, but came up short with 5-2 losses to both 19th-ranked Johns Hopkins University (MD) and 29th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (CA).
The match against Johns Hopkins began with a closely contested doubles session, but the Tigers were unable to clinch the doubles point. First off the court was the powerful partnership of
Conor Kaczmarczyk (Aurora, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) and
Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) at #3, who fell in a tight 6-3 battle. Trinity couldn't respond to the loss at #3 as the duo of
Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep) and
Aashish Dhanani at #2 (Austin, Texas / Westwood) fell in similar fashion losing 6-3. This wrapped up the doubles point for the Blue Jays. The final match was a tense affair that resulted in a 6-3 win at #1 for the consistent duo of
Rocco Mendez (Las Vegas, Nev. / Odyssey Charter School) and
Kishan Kersten (Plano, Texas / West).
With the Tigers needing a strong showing in singles to turn the match around, the early results looked promising. First to finish was
Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) at #1, who delivered an emphatic 7-5, 6-1 win to level the match at 1-1. Shortly after,
Ryan Warren (Keller, Texas / Connection Academy) at #2, took his opponent to three sets. After losing the 1st set 6-2, he came back and won the 2nd set 6-4, only to unfortunately lose the 3rd set 6-0. All eyes then turned to the usually consistent Liao at #6, who fought a grueling two sets but just lost out, losing 6-3, 7-6 (2). To keep the tigers in the tie Mendez at #3 produced an outstanding showing, winning after three sets 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, and handing Trinity an important second point. His efforts proved to be in vain as the Blue Jays wrapped up the match at #5, as Dhanani just fell short losing in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, unfortunately handing John Hopkins the deciding 4th point. The final match of the morning was played out by Kersten at #4, who like many of his teammates today, also lost out after three tight sets. Having lost the 1st set 7-5, he clawed his way back and won the 2nd set 6-4, only to fall short in the 3rd set losing 6-2.
The match against Pomona, one of the hosts of the tournament this weekend, began much like the first as the Tigers fell just short of gathering the doubles point. Kaczmarczyk and Flores lost 6-2 in the first doubles contest off the court, then Pomona clinched the point after battling it out at #1 with Mendez and Kersten, winning 7-6 (7-2) in a tiebreaker. Liao and Dhanani refused to allow it to be a clean sweep, though, winning 7-5 at #2 to close out doubles play.
Trinity tried to carry that momentum into singles play, splitting the first two matches off the court to make it a 2-1 score. Perry lost #1 singles 6-2, 6-3 to start, but Liao won a straight-set 6-4, 6-1 decision to get the first Tiger point of the match. Warren's #2 singles match went to Pomona as well with a 6-4, 6-4 result to get the Sagehens within a point of clinching. Kersten won his first set 7-5, but lost 6-0, 6-1 in the second and third as Pomona clinched the win. Dhanani fell in a pair of tight sets at #5 singles, falling short 6-4, 7-5. Mendez helped Trinity go out on a high note, though, rallying to take the final point. He lost the first set 6-4, then came back with a 7-5 win in the second. Mendez was leading 3-0 in the third when his opponent retired and ended the match.
Up Next
Trinity will finish its part in the Stag-Hen Classic tomorrow against 24th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan.
