The team huddles up before their matchup against Belmont. The Tigers began their season 4-0, and it’s their best start since 2012.
The University of Memphis men’s tennis team (4-0) capped off their second week of the season with three wins against Belmont (2-1) and Jackson State (1-5) a double header, while allowing only one point from their opponents overall. The Tigers won 6-1 against Belmont and 5-0 and 4-0 against JSU.Â
This is the team’s best start in a season since 2012, when they started 7-0.
“I think it’s so good,†said junior Jan Pallares about the team’s start of the season. “The freshies (freshmen) are doing very well, and we have to keep working and keep winning like this.â€
Pallares was crucial in the win against Belmont because he earned the clinching points in both doubles and singles play. Memphis won all three doubles matches to start (two wins are needed to get a point in doubles) and Pallares and freshman Patrick Sydow clinched the doubles point.
The Tigers continued to start strongly in singles play (each win is a point in singles) as Chris Patzanovsky, senior, won his match with ease in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-3 win, and David Stevenson, freshman, earned his first win this season in singles play with a 6-1, 6-4 win. To finish it off, Pallares won the overall match for Memphis with a 6-3,6-3 win.
Chris Doerr, assistant head coach, complimented Pallares’ play on the night and noted his experience was a factor in his performance.
“JP (Pallares) is an exceptional tennis player,†Doerr said. “He’s probably top one or two of how many clinches we had last year, and him being a part of that good team and winning so much, he transitions over.â€
Confidence grew into Sunday’s double header against JSU as the Tigers took care of business with 5-0 and 4-0 victories. In the first match, Memphis swept the doubles play as Patzanovsky and Pallares clinched the first point of the day by the score of 6-2.
Sydow earned his first singles win of the year with a 6-2, 6-1 win, and Turner Voges, junior, made his first singles appearance of the year to clinch the first victory of the day with a 6-3, 6-1 win.
In the second match, Sydow and Pallares were the pair to earn Memphis’ first point by a score of 6-2. With the doubles clinch, Pallares has been a part of all four deciding doubles matches this year. Patzanovsky won his lone singles match of the day by the score of 6-2, 6-1, and he was the first off the court.
Sydow continued his success in singles play by clinching the second win with a 6-3, 6-0 win. The Tigers called it a day after Sydow’s win as Jeremy Taylor (freshman), Marshall Sullivan and Voges did not complete their matches. Because there is a total of six singles matches, if the game has already been decided before all six are finished, the teams have the option to finish the games or leave them unfinished.
The Tigers now look forward to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-Off Weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, against Old Dominion with possible matchups against either Wake Forrest or BYU. Wake Forrest is also the No.1 ranked team in the country, and the reigning NCAA champions last season. The game is slated to start Jan. 25 at 1 p.m.
