Temple University men’s tennis rebounded from a rocky start to the spring season with a pair of victories, sweeping their opponents in back-to-back matches.
The stretch began Thursday when Temple (2-2, 1-0 The American Athletic Conference) defeated St. Francis College Brooklyn (2-5) 7-0 at the Legacy Tennis Center.
Temple saw significant contributions in singles action from its younger players. Sophomore Louis Gorregues won his games 6-2 and 6-0 while freshman Marin Delmas pitched in with a pair of 6-1 victories.
Delmas also made an impact in doubles play when he paired with senior Eric Biscoveanu to win 6-1.
The tandem of Delmas and Biscoveanu is still unbeaten through the team’s first four contests. Their match in Temple’s loss to second-ranked Florida on Jan. 25 went unfinished due to the Gators winning the other two doubles matches.
Temple followed the breakout performance against St. Francis with an equally dominant showing against Connecticut (1-6, 0-1 The AAC) on Friday, beating the Huskies 7-0 at Kinetix Tennis.
The Delmas-Biscoveanu combination excelled once again, picking up a second consecutive 6-1 win. The duo of seniors Juan Araoz and Francisco Bohorquez also notched a 6-4 win.
The team’s success carried over into singles play. Araoz won his games 6-1 and 6-2, while Bohorquez won with scores of 6-1 and 6-0.
The solid play helped the Owls even out their spring record after they dropped their first two contests. The victory over UConn gave them a key win in the conference.
“It definitely helps build the program,” coach Steve Mauro said. “It puts everyone in a good spirit. Everyone comes to practice happy.”
Now in his 15th season at Temple, Mauro has seen his program achieve varying levels of success. He now feels that the team is ready to contend with The American Athletic Conference’s elite.
“Our goal is to win the conference,” Mauro said. “We feel, especially last year after beating teams like Tulane and Tulsa, that we can compete with anyone.”
Much of the responsibility for such high expectations falls on the team’s upperclassmen, Mauro said.
Mauro emphasized the importance of having senior leadership, citing Biscoveanu, Araoz and Bohorquez as impact players he hopes to see take charge in their final campaigns as Owls.
“We need them in order for us to do well,” Mauro said. “They had good years last year, but we need the seniors to step up.”
Although the Owls’ recent victories have Mauro feeling optimistic about the season, he still hopes to see the team make improvements, he said.
“Our doubles were so strong last year,” Mauro said. “This year we’re not quite as strong. We can be. It’s just a matter of finding the right combinations and putting in the effort in practice.”
Up next for the team is a trip to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 9 to take on George Washington University (2-1, 1-0 The Atlantic 10) before returning home to the Legacy Tennis Center to play against South Carolina State University (1-2) on Feb. 15.
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