Christopher Patzanovksy with a last second return to keep the rally going. Patzanovsky is 8-1 in singles action after playing Harvard. Memphis (8-4) suffered defeats against top-50 opponents Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend.
The men’s tennis team (8-4), coming into the last weekend ranked No. 36 in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, suffered two defeats on the road this past weekend against top-50 Ivy League schools Dartmouth (7-5) and Harvard (8-4). The Dartmouth Big Green blanked Memphis 4-0 and the Harvard Crimson won 5-2.
The Tigers are now on a three-game losing streak after losing to the No. 28 and No. 33 teams in the nation, respectfully. History wasn’t in favor of Memphis as they were 4-0 against the two schools in the previous two seasons. The last Tiger win came against Michigan State at home on Feb. 8.
Chris Patzanovsky reflected on the losses and noted that fans have an effect on the players.
“I think the results don’t reflect just how close the matches actually were,†Patzanovsky said. “Everybody fought their hearts out, and it just showed how much effect the crowd can have on the outcome of a match.â€
Dartmouth recapÂ
Doubles action began with David Stevenson and Oscar Cutting, coming No. 35 in doubles against No. 19 ranked Charlie Broom and David Horneffer. The Big Green duo won 6-3, and Jan Pallares and Patrick Sydow tied things up with a 7-6 win shortly after. Dartmouth collected the first point after Jeremy Taylor and Matt Story narrowly lost 6-7.
Momentum carried on for the Big Green as they swept Memphis 4-0 in singles play. Story, Stevenson and Sydow were each defeated in two sets, and Patzanovsky, Pallares and Cutting left their matches unfinished. Patzanovsky had history going against Broom, No. 34 singles player in the nation, as they both split two matches when they were juniors.
“I was super excited to play him and knew it was going to be a dog fight,†Patzanovsky said. “I did not play the tiebreaker quite like I wanted to, but other than that, it was a great match and I finished the match with a lead in the second set.â€
Christopher Patzanovksy with a last second return to keep the rally going. Patzanovsky is 8-1 in singles action after playing Harvard. Memphis (8-4) suffered defeats against top-50 opponents Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend.
Harvard recap
The Tigers traveled to Boston to face another Ivy League opponent, but the struggle continued in doubles action. Cutting and Stevenson faced the No. 35 duo of the nation, Andy Zhou and Logan Weber, but were defeated 4-6. Story and Taylor suffered defeat, and Pallares and Sydow couldn’t collect their second win of the weekend with a 7-6 loss.
Memphis couldn’t gain momentum in singles play as Harvard was able to clinch the win without giving up a point until they played the rest of the matches out. Cutting improved his singles play record to 8-1 after a close 7-6, 6-4 win over Harvard’s Lane Leschly.
Patzanovsky also improved to an 8-1 record with a 7-6, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8) win against Robert Wrzesinski. While a young Memphis team couldn’t break the losing streak, Patzanovsky is glad the freshmen are facing difficult competition so far because it will be beneficial in the long run.
“The earlier the freshies get to play the best players in the country and get thrown into unknown situation, the better,†Patzanovsky said. “First years are always difficult, but I believe the harder the first year is, the more successful the other three years can be, so I’m really happy for them.â€
At-home matchup against Temple is next
The Tigers now look forward to another weekend off before they start American Conference play against Temple (3-4) at The Racquet Club of Memphis. This will mark the start of outdoor play as well for the team. While Temple currently has less games played than Memphis has total wins, Patzanovsky is eager to start playing with conference rivals.
“Conference play is honestly so exciting,†Patzanovsky said. “Those are the teams that you want to beat like no other, they are your direct rivals, so I’m super stoked about it.â€
