By: Donnie Menke ~Staff Writer~
The men’s and women’s tennis teams did not find as much success as they would have liked over the weekend, going a combined 1-3 in their matches.
The men’s team lost 5-2 at Samford on Saturday and 4-3 at Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, while the women’s team picked up its first win of the season on Saturday at Eastern Kentucky by a score of 6-1.
The women’s team could not keep up the momentum on Sunday at Michigan State, losing 5-2.
Against Samford, Xavier had success in doubles play, winning two of the three matches. Redshirt senior Matt Bishop and junior Gabriel Araujo defeated Justin Ghavami and Max Rebol of Samford 6-4. Sophomore Trent Smith and junior Connor LaFavre beat Hugo Moreira and Curran Verma 6-4 as well.
In singles play, Bishop beat Jake Faundez in three sets by scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Redshirt freshman Nick Werner also won his match by beating Moreira in two sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Against Eastern Kentucky, Bishop and Araujo won their doubles match again, defeating Ramon van Flymen and Guillem Sanchis 6-3. Smith and LaFavre also won again, beating Romain Stoffels and Diego Asis 7-6.
Both Bishop and sophomore Jack Dykema won their singles matches, while the team brought its record to 2-5 on the season with the loss.
The women’s team found more success this weekend, defeating Eastern Kentucky 6-1 to record its first win of the year. The match featured wins by senior Sydney Liggins, senior Cristina Di Lorenzo, junior Lauren Ghidotti, freshman Vania Iordanova and sophomore Sophia Abelson in singles play.
Di Lorenzo and Ghidotti won their doubles match against Laura Argente and Raquel Montalvo 6-3, while Liggins and Abelson won their doubles match by a score of 6-2 over Viktorija Demcenkova and Margaux Lacroix.
The women’s team could not keep up the momentum on Sunday, though, losing to Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday.
Only Liggins and Di Lorenzo were able to pick up singles wins in this match. Di Lorenzo and Ghidotti were also able to win a doubles match against Erin Faulkner and Aslina Chua by a score of 6-3 to bring their record to 1-5.
The men’s team is back in action on Friday against Valparaiso, and the women’s team takes on Northern Kentucky on Saturday.