Men's Tennis | 2/27/2016 6:24:00 PM
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Allegheny men's tennis team suffered a pair of defeats at the Mayfield Racquet Club, dropping a tight 6-3 contest to Wabash, before falling 9-0 to Case Western Reserve, ranked 14th in the nation and fourth in the ITA Central Region.
The day's first match was a back-and-forth affair from the start, but Wabash, ranked 16th in the Region, eventually prevailed.
The match was back-and-forth from the start, but Wabash, ranked 16h in the ITA's Central Region, eventually prevailed.
In doubles action, the duo of Jai Radkar and
Zach Anderson gave the Gators their first win of the afternoon, with a 9-8 (7-3) victory at the second flight.
Though Redkar and Anderson posted Allegheny's lone doubles win, the first and third-flight matches were each battles, as both the Gators' number-one duo of
Thomas Manning and
Tyler Triolo and third flight pairing of
Colton JohnsonTaylor and
Will Andres were edged by identical 9-7 scores.
Redkar picked up his second win of the day at #3 singles, cruising to a 6-2 win in the opening set before clinching the match with a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreak triumph.
Manning was also victorious for the Gators in singles play, as the 50th-ranked singles player in the country opened by taking a 7-6 (7-4) first set, before closing with a 6-2 second set to seal the victory.
At fourth flight, freshman
Zach Anderson dropped a marathon three-set decision. He rebounded from dropping the first set 6-3 by taking the second set 6-4, but was unable to complete the win in the third set, falling 10-5.
In the nightcap with Case Western Reserve, the host Spartans opened with three doubles wins. In the top flight match, the Gators' tandem of Triolo and Manning took on Case's Louis Stuerke and CJ Krimbill, the ninth-ranked doubles team in Division-III. The Gator duo battled but fell in a tight dual, as Case eked out an 8-6 win. Redkar and Anderson also turned in a strong effort at second flight, before eventually falling 8-4.
Each of Case's six singles wins came in straight sets, with Redkar turning in the Gators' top performance in the number-three spot, falling 6-2, 6-4.
The Gators will now have a three-week respite before returning to action on Mar. 20, when they take on Carleton College in Hilton Head, South Carolina in their first of four matches during their annual spring break trip.
