SALEM, W.Va. & FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Kutztown University men's tennis picked up a 4-0 win at Salem in a postponed match Saturday morning before falling to 15th-ranked Fairmont State 7-0 in the afternoon.
KUTZTOWN 4, SALEM 0
The Golden Bears found themselves in battles throughout doubles and singles but were able to pull through in both to defeat the Tigers (0-1) for the second straight season.
Dang Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam/) and
Joaquin Perez (Pachuca, Mexico/Escuela Americana) defeated Simon Braeuning and Jose Cobo, 6-3, at first doubles before the hosts fought back to even the match with a 6-4 win at No. 2.
In the point-deciding match at No. 3,
Patrick Young (Belfast, Northern Ireland/) and
Emmitt Robinson (Ingersoll, Ontario/Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute) held off Elias Hort and Tomas Acuna, 7-5.
The doubles point proved to be a momentum lifter as Kutztown (4-5) prevailed in three close singles matches.
Nguyen topped Braeuning 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 to make it 2-0 Golden Bears. Robinson bounced back from a first set loss to beat Stefan Schultz 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 in a super tiebreaker and
Terrell Arejola (Quezon City, Philippines/Southville International School and Colleges) clinched the match for KU with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Mika Rodermond at No. 4.
With the Maroon and Gold needing to get on the road to make the 35-mile trip north to Fairmont State, the teams agreed to end the match at that point, leaving the remaining three singles matches unfinished.
Young was up a set at No. 2 after a 7-6 (4) win in the first against Hort when play was called.
#15 FAIRMONT STATE 7, KUTZTOWN 0
Kutztown showed well in its second match of the day against an elite Fairmont State side, despite the 7-0 final score.
The Falcons (9-1) came in ranked 15th in the ITA Division II Rankings and featured the 26th ranked doubles tandem in the country along with three regionally ranked singles players.
The nationally ranked pair of Kusunoki Haruto and Noah Liedtke got Fairmont State off to a fast start with a 6-1 win at first doubles and the hosts would quickly secure the point with a 6-2 win at No. 2.
Terrell Arejola (Quezon City, Philippines/Southville International School and Colleges) and
Luis Lopes (Piracicaba, Brazil/Colegio Saber) took Mohamed El Helaly and Gustavo Masu to nine games in a 6-3 setback at No. 3.
Fairmont State saw its lead increase to 2-0 following a retirement at No. 5 singles before going on to win the remaining matches in straight sets.
Dang Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam/) took a team-best seven games for KU (4-6) before falling to Haruto, who is 18th in the ITA Atlantic Region, 6-4, 6-3.
Patrick Young (Belfast, Northern Ireland/) won six games against regionally ranked No. 10 Gabriel Masu in a 6-4, 6-2 loss and
Raphael Hoareau Lebon (Saint-Joseph, Réunion/) also claimed six games in a 6-2, 6-4 defeat against Jacob Smolder at No. 6.
Kutztown will return to the Keystone Courts this Friday, March 27, to face Muhlenberg on Senior Day. Match time is set for 4 p.m.
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