PHILADELPHIA -- Kutztown received singles wins from No. 5
Henrique Rocha (Jaticua, Brazil/Escola SEB Maceio) and No. 6
Neal Devkaran (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI Catholic) to avoid being shut out, but it came too late as Jefferson defeated the Golden Bears, 5-2, in a non-conference match at the Legacy Youth Tennis Courts, Friday.
Rocha had an outstanding day, also teaming up with
Dang Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) to win third doubles, 6-1, over the Rams' Ahmed Aboseada and Ayan Mehra. Unfortunately for KU (0-2), victories by the hosts at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles had them in the driver's seat heading to singles with a 1-0 lead.
Jefferson (2-1), which has won six in a row over KU, got wins from Hannibal Borg at No. 1, Enrique Soto Ballester at No. 2, Jules Thibault at No. 3 and Antonio Mateos Melenchon at No. 4 to secure the match victory.
Devkaran withstood a push from Mehra in the first set on his way to a 6-4, 6-0 win, while Rocha outlasted Aboseada 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 in a super tiebreaker.
Kutztown pushed Jefferson in a number of matches, despite being on the wrong end of the outcome.
Nguyen won his opening set over Thibault at No. 3, 6-4, before dropping the next two by 6-1 and 6-2 scores.
Emmitt Robinson (Ingersoll, Ontario/Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute) went to a tiebreaker in the second set at No. 4, but couldn't force a third against Mateos Melenchon in a 6-2, 7-6 (9) defeat.
Joaquin Perez (Pachuca, Mexico/Escuela Americana) nearly matched Soto Ballester game-for-game in a 7-5, 6-4 loss at No. 2.
Kutztown will return home Saturday to face Moravian at 10:30 a.m.
Â
