SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's tennis team picked up two victories from their Saturday doubleheader. They began the day at the Mabry Tennis Center with a 4-2 victory over Trinity University and went on to edge out St. Mary's in a tight 4-3 contest at the Rohrbach Stadium later in the afternoon.
In the first match of the day, both the Cardinals (3-4) and the Tigers (3-2) played some exciting tennis in the singles and doubles competition. It was the visiting Tigers who took the first point, winning two out of the three doubles matches to put the Cardinals behind.
Things started to heat up in the singles competition as the balance began to shift towards the Cardinals. At the #3 position
Tucker Brown was the first to finish with an efficient two set sweep against opponent Aaron Skinner. He won 6-1, 6-3 respectively.
At the number #1 seed, however,
Leonard Ivic struggled to get any rhythm going against Adam Krull and a consistent performance coupled with forced errors from Ivic gave Trinity their only singles point of the morning. Krull won the match 6-2, 6-1.
With the count split at 2-2, the win was still up for grabs as four singles matches were still in play.
Josip Smoljan eased through his first set against Jordan Mayer winning 6-3 for UIW, but the second came down to an intense tie break as the lead interchanged between both players. Smoljan finally took the advantage winning 7-6 in the second set from some intelligent play at the baseline.
The Tigers were relentless in keeping the pressure on the Cardinals as both matches at the #4 and #6 seed went to a tie break on the first set. For UIW,
Joey Vatanadilok came out on top 7-6 and went on to win 6-3 in the second set.
UIW needed just one more point to win the match, which was earned by
Ryan Hoverson at #6 seed. Having rallied hard to take the first set 7-6 off the tie break, Hoverson defeated Chas Mayer 6-3 in the second set to secure the win for the Cardinals.
A quick turnaround between matches saw the Cardinals head to the campus of St. Mary's University where another tough fixture was in the cards against the Rattlers (1-1). UIW was up a point after doubles, winning matches at the #2 and #3 positions.
In singles action, the victories and losses were far more decisive with only one game going into a tie break. Ivic rectified his morning's performance by defeating Michael Maciel 6-0, 6-4 at the #1 seed, while both Smoljan and Vatanadilok were the only UIW players victorious over both competitors winning in straight sets. The Rattlers were able to earn three points at the #3, #5 and #6 positions, but it was not enough to take the win.
UIW head coach
Pierce Brandan said, "We had a tough doubleheader day and our first match against Trinity was a battle. Trinity is always strong, and they have a great doubles team every year. We lost the doubles point, but bounced back to take four singles matches. The guys showed a lot of heart and determination during the singles."
"Against St. Mary's we took two out of the three doubles for the first time this year, which proved to be the determining factor," added Brandan. "The guys were pretty tired, but they showed great pride and character to win three singles matches that won it for us. These wins were great confidence boosters. I am proud of these men and I am sure the character they built today will show later in the season."
The Cardinals are back in action on Monday when they remain at home to host the University of Southern Mississippi. They play at the Mabry Tennis Center at 10 a.m.
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