Temple University men’s tennis defeated George Washington University (2-2, 1-0 The Atlantic 10) 5-2 on Sunday at Trump National Golf Club to extend its winning streak to three matches.
Temple (3-2, 1-0 The American Athletic Conference) struggled early, splitting the first two doubles matches with the Colonials before losing the deciding game 7-5.
The duo of freshman Marin Delmas and senior Paolo Cucalon brought the Owls their only doubles victory by a score of 6-4 over the Colonials’ duo of sophomore Lawrence Sciglitano and senior Jakub Behun. Sophomores Enzo Brida and Thibault Frumholz teamed up in an unsuccessful effort, losing 7-5 to Colonials sophomore Ryan Navarro and sophomore Ethan Jacobs. Seniors Eric Biscoveanu and Juan Araoz also paired together, losing 6-2 against sophomores Zicheng Zeng and Ben Barnett.
Temple turned its fortunes in singles play, winning five of the six matchups.
Delmas excelled once again in solo action, defeating Navarro 6-0 and 6-1.
Cucalon also had a strong singles showing, beating Zeng 6-4 and 6-2. Brida secured another win for Temple with 6-2 and 7-5 victories over Behun. The win was the first for Temple on the road this year. Coach Steve Mauro noted the importance of winning outside of Philadelphia.
“It’s definitely more difficult on the road because surfaces are different,” Mauro said. “Sometimes it takes you a while to get used to it. Some surfaces are slower. Some are faster. Sometimes the ball bounces higher.”
Mauro believes his team’s unfamiliarity with the court’s surface may have contributed to the Owls’ doubles loss.
“It was different than where we practice every day,” Mauro said. “So, I think it took us a little longer to adjust to it, and I think that’s one of the reasons we lost the doubles point.”
Despite the doubles’ difficulties, Mauro sees potential in his team.
“We have a lot of talented players,” Mauro said. “We have a lot of new players. They just have to learn how to play doubles in the system that we use.”
Temple returns home to face Wagner College (1-3, 0-1 Northeast Conference) on Feb. 22 at Philadelphia’s Legacy Tennis Center.
The Owls’ match against South Carolina State University (1-2), which was originally scheduled for Feb. 15, has been rescheduled to March 22.
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