A hard fought battle against Wake Forrest (5-0), the No.1 ranked team and reigning NCAA champions, ends with the men’s tennis team (5-1) suffering their first loss of the season by the score of 4-1.
The Tigers traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend hosted by Wake Forest, and they won in the first round against Old Dominion (2-2) by the score of 4-1.
“Old Dominion is a very good team,” senior Chris Patzanovsky said. “Beating them 4-1, which not a lot of people expected outside the UofM that we would beat them, was great.”
Against Old Dominion, the Tigers continued their winning ways in doubles even after giving up an early lead. Old Dominion’s duo of Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli defeated Memphis’ freshman Oscar Cutting and redshirt David Stevenson by the score of 6-4. The score was all even after redshirt junior Matt Story and redshirt freshman Jeremy Taylor won 6-3, and the familiar duo of junior Jan Pallares and freshman Patrick Sydow clinched the first point in a 7-6 tiebreaker win. Pallares now has five doubles wins in the season, three of which are with Sydow.
The Tigers carried the momentum against the Monarchs in singles play as Patzanovsky won the No. 1 position in straight sets 6-2 and 6-3. Cutting struggled in his first set as he trailed 5-2, but the England native fought back to win the opening set 7-5. He then won 6-3 to clinch the 4-1 win for the Tigers.
The next day, the Tigers faced their toughest opponent of the year so far with multiple Wake Forest players being ranked in the nation, including the No. 1 singles player in the NCAA Petros Chrysochos.
In doubles play, the Tigers weren’t able to earn the opening point for the first time this season. The duo of Story and Taylor were the first off the court in a 6-1 defeat, and Pallares and Sydow lost a back-and-forth battle that led to Wake Forest gaining momentum on their home court.
Patzanovsky faced Chrysochos on court number one, and he suffered his first defeat of the year by a score of 6-4 and 6-2. Patzanovsky said Chrysochos was the toughest opponent he ever faced and would take on the opportunity to face him again.
“I wish I could play him again because the second time I would do better,” Patzanovsky said. “I’m not happy I lost, but for the future, I gained a lot in the match.”
The Tigers avoided being swept after Cutting earned his fifth win of the season in a freshman matchup against Siddhant Banthia, the No. 1 ranked player in India in high school. Cutting won in straight sets 6-4 and 6-2. Pallares had a chance to earn another win for the Tigers against the No. 25 ranked player Bar Botzer as he went into the third set leading 1-0.
“I definitely think I would have beaten him if we would have played it out,” Pallares said. ”He is probably the best player I have played in my collegiate career.”
Julian Zlobinsky defeated Memphis’ Sydow in straight sets 6-3 and 6-4 to clinch the 4-1 win for Wake Forest.
The Tigers now head back home Friday in a midday doubleheader against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The first matches are set to start at 11 a.m. at the Racquet Club of Memphis.
“Our record is 5-1 and I think we are having a fantastic season at the moment,” Pallares said. “The lost against Wake Forest did not hurt us at all because we knew they were the best team in the nation, and we showed them that we could beat them.”
