Huskies Fall to Salem at Spring Tennis Fest
HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Michigan Tech men's tennis team had a strong showing in the first match of the 2020 season, but came up just a bit short against Salem University 4-3 at the annual Spring Tennis Fest Tournament held in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Huskies held in there against the Tigers who are ranked 10th in the ITA NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Poll.
"This was our first match of the season and there were definitely some first match nerves," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kristin Yep said. "We fought hard, but came up just short. We were right in there, but unfortunately a few key moments went Salem's way. This match showed us a lot in terms of what we need to do moving forward. We have four more matches this week and I think we have a lot more to bring to the courts."
Michigan Tech (0-1) got a big win in doubles when freshman Artem Sharkota and junior Ignacio Carbajosa teamed up to defeat Bas DeWaal and Zachary Laplante of Salem (3-0) 7-5 in the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Sophomore Siddhesh Mahadeshwar and freshman Andrew Freel gave Jose Marino and Emanuel Nicodemo Mallya all they could handle in the No. 2 spot before falling 6-4. Gianfranco Germinara and Anas Haddou logged a 6-2 win in the No. 1 doubles for the Tigers to clinch the overall match point.
In singles competition, Freel outlasted Haddou for a three-set win in the No. 3 position thanks to scores of 4-6, 7-6, 10-8. Carbajosa notched an impressive win in the No. 4 spot over Laplante 6-3, 6-0 to go to 2-0 on the day when the doubles victory is factored in. Freshman Arvind Kalyana jumped into No. 6 singles and recorded Tech's third point with a 6-4, 6-1 decision against DeWall.
Unfortunately, Germinara topped freshman Vitor Jordao 6-1, 6-0 in No. 1 singles and Mallya got past junior Nico Caviglia 6-4, 6-2 in No. 2 singles. Salem's Jose Marino picked up a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Sharkota in No. 5 singles for the fourth point in the match for the Tigers.
The Huskies are off Sunday before returning to the court Monday morning to play Kutztown in match two at the Spring Tennis Fest Tournament. The first serve is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. eastern time.