SAN ANTONIO – The 11th-ranked Trinity University men's tennis team fell just short in a narrow 4-3 loss in a midweek match-up against 26th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University (PA).
It was a bright start to the evening for the Tigers as they carried their doubles dominance from the weekend into today's matchup, winning all three of their matches and snatching the doubles point. First to finish was the consistent duo of
Rocco Mendez (Las Vegas, Nev. / Odyssey Charter School) and
Kishan Kersten (Plano, Texas / West) at #1, who swept their opponent with ease, winning 6-3. Next to finish was the powerful partnership of
Conor Kaczmarczyk (Aurora, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) and
Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) at #3, who comfortably won 6-2, claiming the doubles point for the Tigers. The final match at #2 was the closest of all, as the returning
Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep) and the ever-present
Aashish Dhanani (Austin, Texas / Westwood) were taken all the way to a tiebreak, eventually winning 7-6 (7-4).
The singles action swung back and forth all evening, proving to be a much closer affair than anticipated after the Tigers' dominance in the doubles. First up was
Roshin Kamath (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) at #4, who didn't hit his usual game today and unfortunately lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, equalizing the score for the Tartans. The passionate Mendez at #3 quickly avenged his freshman counterpart in confident style, defeating his opponent 6-3, 6-2, and giving Trinity a deserved lead. Unfortunately, the next freshman up,
Ryan Warren (Keller, Texas / Connection Academy) at #2, couldn't repeat Mendez's singles dominance and fell once again in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Next to finish was Dhanani at #6, who was taken right to wire in both sets, but showed his steely nerve and composure, to win 7-5, 7-5. This gave the Tigers a vital 3-2 lead and meant they only needed a win from
Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) at #1 or Kersten at #5, to bring the match home for the Tigers. Perry looked to be on course for the point, as he won the first set 6-4, however, things took a turn for the worse and he lost the following two 6-2, 6-3, to draw the match level for the Tartans. All eyes then turned to the fierce contest at #5, as the battle for the match winner raged on. Kirsten showed extreme fight as he clawed his way back from a first-set 6-4 loss to win the second 6-4. However, he couldn't quite get it across the line and painfully fell at the last hurdle losing the third set 6-2, in turn handing the point and the win to the visiting Tartans.
Up Next
The 11th-ranked Trinity University men's tennis team will look to bounce back at home next week, as they play host to Occidental University (CA) on Tuesday, March 11th at 2:30 p.m.
