The men’s tennis team lost 7-0 to George Washington Saturday evening at Legacy Tennis Center in Manayunk.
The Owls fall to 2-5 (1-1 Atlantic 10 Conference), while the Colonials improve to 6-4 (1-0 A-10).
“I know we can play better, but everyone fought today,” coach Steve Mauro said. “I’m happy with the way they fought and the way they supported one another.”
In the top doubles flight, senior Kacper Rams and freshman Santiago Canete fell to junior Ulrik Thompson and senior Alexander van Gils 8-6. Sophomore Hernan Vasconez and freshman Nicolas Paulus lost 8-4 to junior Nikita Fomin and freshman Danil Zelenkov. The third flight match, pitting sophomore Kristian Marquart and freshman Sam Rundle against sophomore Francisco Dias and senior Leonardo Lapentti was ended early, with the GW tandem up 6-4.
In singles play, Rams fell to Fomin 6-3, 6-4 in the first flight. In flight two, Belkssir lost 6-0, 6-3 to Dias, who is the #113 singles player in the country. This was the first match this season Dias did not play in the top flight.
“Hicham is getting valuable experience from these matches,” Mauro said. “By the end of the season, he may not still be at the #2 position. It’s still so early in the season that his experience of playing against some of the top players in the A-10 will definitely help, especially if he plays lower in the lineup towards the end of the season.”
In flight three, Marquart was defeated 6-4, 6-2 by Zelenkov. Canete fell 6-4, 6-2 to van Gils in the fourth flight.
Paulus lost 6-2, 6-3 to Thomsen in the fifth flight. In the sixth flight, Rundle fell to junior Viktor Svensson 6-2, 6-2. Due to a lack of available courts, that match did not start until after the second flight match had finished.
“Not really,” Rundle said when asked if the wait affected his play. “[GW] had already won. But it’s still a college tennis match.”
“I think if we play them again, outside, especially at A-10s, we’ll have a better chance because the surface is a little bit slower,” Mauro said. “That helps some of our players.”
Temple has a quick turnaround, playing next at Lehigh on Sunday, March 3 at 10 a.m.
Evan Cross can be reached at evan.cross@temple.edu or on Twitter @EvanCross.
Be the first to comment