ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Kutztown University men's tennis got back into the win column Friday afternoon, winning all nine contested matches in a 7-0 sweep of Muhlenberg at the Kern Field Courts.
A pair of 6-2 wins in doubles quickly vaulted the Golden Bears (12-4) to a 1-0 lead in the match.
KU's No. 3 duo of
Luis Lopes (Piracicaba, Brazil/Colegio Saber) and
Lucas Cherniak (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini) bested Josh Simon and Gabriel Tamarkin by a 6-2 score before
Dang Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam/) and
Henrique Rocha (Jaticua, Brazil/Escola SEB Maceio) did the same against Owen Dyer and William Rose at No. 1.
The Maroon and Gold completed the doubles trifecta with a 7-5 victory from
Emmitt Robinson (Ingersoll, Ontario/Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute) and
Linus Vennekold (Laatzen, Germany/) over Matt Miller and Max Gofton at No. 2. Robinson and Vennekold earned their 10th win of the season together (10-7), while Nguyen and Rocha moved within a win of double digits (9-8).
Singles was more of the same for KU, with all six points going to the visitors. Five of those came in straight set victories.
Lopes topped Simon 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5,
Joaquin Perez (Pachuca, Mexico/Escuela Americana) put up matching scores in his win over Gofton at No. 4 and Cherniak supplied back-to-back 6-2 set wins to clinch the match for Kutztown at No. 6.
Rocha was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Rose at No. 3 and Nguyen defeated Dyer 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1. Head coach
Pete Smith's squad completed the sweep when No. 2
Nikita Safonov (Podolsk, Russia/) rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 win in a third-set super tiebreaker over Miller.
A day after Vennekold became the first Golden Bear to 10 singles wins on the season, Nguyen joined him in double figures with his 10th (10-6). Vennekold improved to 11-3 with his win Friday.
Kutztown can clinch its first PSAC Championship tournament berth since 2018 with a win in its regular season finale at home against West Chester on Tuesday, April 22. Match time is 2 p.m.
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