Box Score The Chicago State men's tennis team lost to UTRGV 4-3 Saturday afternoon at the New Mexico State Tennis Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Cougars struck first, winning doubles matches at No. 2 and 3, leaving No. 1 on the court when the team point was clinched. In singles, UTRGV captured wins at No. 1 and 4 to surge ahead 2-1.
Jesus Perez Plaza won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 3 to knot the team score 2-2. CSU's
Hugo Hidalgo Vega earned a straight-set win at No. 5, leaving Chicago State with a 3-2 lead and needing to win one of the final two matches to earn the victory. UTRGV knotted the score 3-3 with a win at No. 2 and, at No. 6,
Jakub Zamorski won the first set 6-2 and led 4-1 in the second before UTRGV's Sam Whitehead rallied for a 7-5 second-set win, forcing a third set where he picked up a 6-3 victory and sealing the 4-3 win for UTRGV.
"We came out really strong and getting the doubles win was huge," head coach
Jack Barton said. "We knew that our No. 3-6 singles had to step up and, in most part, we did, but we let them off the hook. We were up a set at No. 6 singles and leading 4-1 in the second set but we blew the opportunity to clinch the match. We gave them a opening and they took advantage. We're all disappointed we let the opportunity to get the win slip away. We have to move forward, but this one hurt."
The Cougars will be back on the court next weekend, competing in a WAC pod in Beaumont, Texas, facing New Mexico State on Friday, March 25 at 9 a.m. then Grand Canyon on Saturday, March 26 at 9 a.m.
UTRGV vs Chicago State University
3/19/2022 at Las Cruces, New Mexico
(New Mexico State Tennis Center)
UTRGV 4, Chicago State University 3
Singles competition
1. Misha Kvantaliani (UTRGV) def.
Pedro Alvarez (CSUM) 6-4, 7-5
2. Carlo Izurieta (UTRGV) def.
Jakov Suler (CSUM) 6-4, 7-5
3.
Jesus Perez Plaza (CSUM) def. George Hutchings (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-3
4. Alberto Mello (UTRGV) def. J Sanchez Pradillo (CSUM) 6-1, 6-2
5.
Hugo Hidalgo Vega (CSUM) def. Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-2
6. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) def.
Jakub Zamorski (CSUM) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. J Sanchez Pradillo/
Pedro Alvarez (CSUM) vs. Misha Kvantaliani/Carlo Izurieta (UTRGV) 3-5, unfinished
2.
Jesus Perez Plaza/
Jakub Zamorski (CSUM) def. Alberto Mello/Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 6-1
3.
Jakov Suler/
Max Sandoval (CSUM) def. George Hutchings/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 6-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,4,3,5,2,6)
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach
Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.
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