Homewood, Ill.—CSU Men's Tennis team fell short to Toledo Rockets, 3-4
To begin, the No. 2 and No. 3 duos fell to the Rockets in two sets. The duos
George Botha (Cradock, South Africa, Grey College Secondary School)/
Gonzalo Martinez (Madrid, Spain, Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo), fell to senior
Vince Anzalone/junior
Danilo Vukotic, 3-6, while
Cody Wurzelbacher (Toledo, Ohio, Springfield)/
Nicholas Liddy (Brisbane, Australia) fell to senior/freshman duo
Juan Carranza/
Cole Shoults, 1-6. Doubles duo
Jakov Suler (Zagreb, Croatia, Sportska Gimnazija)/
Felix Savard (Laval, QC Canada, Saint-Gabriel) were down only down by one but were unable to finish their match.
In singles action, juniors
Cody Wurzelbacher (Toledo, Ohio, Springfield) and
Nicholas Liddy (Brisbane, Australia) both fell in two sets in the No. 5 and No. 6 spot, respectively. However, senior
Felix Savard (Laval, QC Canada, Saint-Gabriel) defeated his opponent, Danilo Vukotic, in two, trailing the rockets 1-3. Sophomore
George Botha (Cradock, South Africa, Grey College Secondary School) also clinched his win against Vince Anzalone in two sets to continue the cougar momentum. The cougars, now down 3-2, needed to win their next two matches. No. 1 spot and freshman
Jakov Suler (Zagreb, Croatia, Sportska Gimnazija) and No.4 spot redshirt senior
Gonzalo Martinez (Madrid, Spain, Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo) both played a nail-biting, three-set thriller. No. 1 spot and freshman
Jakov Suler (Zagreb, Croatia, Sportska Gimnazija) took the first set 6-4, while Luka Vitosevis took the second 6-4. Meanwhile, No. 4 spot
Gonzalo Martinez (Madrid, Spain, Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo) trailed Omar Espinosa in the first set 5-7 then won the next two sets 7-5 and 7-6 (9). However, Vitosevis defeated
Jakov Suler (Zagreb, Croatia, Sportska Gimnazija) 7-6(12) after multiple lead changes just moments before Gonzalo's victory, clinching the match for the rockets.
"This was the best college tennis match I have ever seen," Head Coach
Jack Barton commented, "It was 3 hours and 45 minutes of great drama and excitement. This was huge for the moral of our team. They put in hard work and I couldn't be prouder of these guys."
Up Next
The cougars next match is scheduled for Saturday, March 2
nd at 1 p.m. CT vs the University of Nebraska, Omaha in Omaha, NE.
Chicago State Vs. Toledo
Chicago State 3, Toledo 4
Doubles Competition
1.
Omar Espinosa/Luka Vitosevic (UT) vs.
Jakov Suler/
Felix Savard (CSU), 5-4 unfinished
2.
Vince Anzalone/
Danilo Vukotic (UT) def.
George Botha/
Gonzalo Martinez (CSU), 6-3
3.
Juan Carranza/
Cole Shoults (UT) def.
Cody Wurzelbacher/
Nicholas Liddy (CSU), 6-1
Singles Competition
1.
Luka Vitosevic (UT) def.
Jakov Suler (CSU), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(12)
2.
Felix Savard (CSU) def.
Danilo Vukotic (UT), 6-4, 7-6(5)
3.
George Botha (CSU) def.
Vince Anzalone (UT), 7-5, 7-6(5)
4.
Gonzalo Martinez (CSU) def.
Omar Espinosa (UT), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(9)
5.
Thawin Suksathaporn (UT) def.
Cody Wurzelbacher (CSU), 6-4, 7-5
6.
Serjen Olmedo (UT) def.
Nicholas Liddy (CSU), 6-1, 6-4
