Huskies Close Season against Wayne State
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's tennis team wrapped up the 2019 campaign on Saturday, falling 7-0 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match to Wayne State University. The Huskies honored senior's Juan Felipe Chica and Mario Neto prior to the first serve.
"Wayne State is a great team and credit to them for playing a solid match," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Kalinec said. "It's great for us to be able to play against a team of that caliber and I'm proud of our players for their effort in today's match. We definitely learned some things from this match that will help us moving forward.
"I can't say enough about Juan [Felipe Chica] and Mario [Neto] and all that they have done for our program. They have been great leaders for four years and it's been a pleasure having them on the team. They have given 110 percent effort throughout their careers, in both practices and matches, and I'm really proud of both of them. Overall as a team, I thought we made some good progress this season and we are a batter team now than we were a year ago."
Neto and freshman Siddhesh Mahadeshwar teamed up in No. 1 doubles for Michigan Tech (2-13, 0-8 GLIAC) and played a solid contest against the top duo from Wayne State (16-3, 6-0 GLIAC) in Griffin Mertz and Taylor Vane. Neto and Mahadeshwar put up a tough battle before falling 6-4.
The Warriors also claimed wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles spots to grab a 1-0 lead in the overall match. Sophomore's Nico Caviglia and Ignacio Carbajosa fell to Niklas Karcz and Pierre Renaudie in the No. 2 spot 6-1 while Felipe Chica and freshman Harry Becht stumbled against Derek Sammons and David Solar 6-0 in No 3 doubles.
The Huskies had a tough time against the Warriors in singles Saturday, with Wayne State claiming points in all six contests. Becht had a strong showing in his second singles match of the spring in the No. 6 spot. Becht lost the first set to Sammons 6-1, but battled back with some good adjustments in the second set to nearly pull out a win and force a third frame. Unfortunately, Sammons was able to hang on for a 7-6 win in that second set.
In No. 1 singles, Karcz got past Neto 6-2, 6-1 followed by Caviglia falling in No. 2 singles to Renaudie 6-2, 6-1 as well. Carbajosa stumbled against Vane 6-0, 6-1 in No. 3 singles and Mertz topped Mahadeshwar 6-3, 6-1 in No. 4 singles. Max Rink ended up getting the victory over Felipe Chica 6-0, 6-0 in No. 5 singles Saturday.
The Huskies closed their season Saturday and will look to build on the 2019 campaign as they get ready for 2019-20.
