Huskies Fall to Missouri-St. Louis on Final Day at Spring Tennis Fest
HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Michigan Tech men's tennis team lost a 7-0 non-conference decision to the University of Missouri-St. Louis on the final day of the Spring Tennis Fest Tournament Friday in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Huskies notched a pair of victories over spring break, defeating Kutztown 4-3 and Shepherd 6-1.
"Overall, I thought our guys played well against a solid Missouri-St. Louis team," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Kalinec said. "I was proud of our effort today and thought we accomplished some good things this week as we get set to open the GLIAC schedule next weekend. We are looking forward to returning home and having the chance to compete against Grand Valley State, Ferris State, and Northwood at the Gates Tennis Center starting next Friday."
Michigan Tech (2-5) fell behind early when Missouri-St. Louis (6-3) jumped in front 1-0 with wins in all three doubles contests. Senior Mario Neto teamed up with freshman Siddhesh Mahadeshwar in No. 1 doubles and fell 6-1 to Adrian Lessing and Karl Heinrichs of Missouri-St. Louis. Sophomore Nico Caviglia and sophomore Ignacio Carbajosa lost 6-1 to Ben-Hur Kasprzak and Vitor Monteiro on No. 2 doubles while senior Juan Felipe Chica and freshman Nathan Sodini stumbled against Rob White and Milan Kovacs of the Tritons in No. 3 doubles 6-1.
The Huskies came up just short in all the singles matches Friday, but there were some solid performances up and down the lineup. Neto battled with Kasprzak in the No. 1 spot before falling late in each set 6-3, 6-3. In No. 3 singles, Carbajosa went toe to toe with Lessing, but unfortunately Lessing got the edge in the first set 7-5 before clinching the point with a 6-3 decision in the second set.
In No. 2 singles, Monteiro got past Caviglia 6-0, 6-1, White defeated Mahadeshwar 6-2, 6-2 in No. 4 singles, and Felipe Chica lost to Heinrichs 6-1, 6-0 in No. 5 singles. The Tritons also picked up a point with a default victory in the No. 6 spot in the lineup.
The Huskies kick off the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule Friday when they host Grand Valley State at the Gates Tennis Center. The first serve is slated for 10 a.m. eastern time.