Bolivar, Mo.—The University of Saint Mary men's tennis started their year with a pair of hard-fought victories but dropped a 1-6 decision to SBU Men's Tennis on February 18th at the John A. Bryant Tennis Center in Bolivar, Mo. The Spires claimed one singles match behind a straight-sets win from Evan Maritz and added a doubles victory from the tandem of Nils Dueppe and Nudem Koyuncu.
Maritz provided the highlight of the day in singles play for Saint Mary, battling to a 7-5, 7-5 win over Alexandru Marinescu on the No. 3 court. The Spires' standout was steady in the tight moments, securing late breaks in both sets to close out one of the most competitive matches of the dual and account for the team's lone singles point.
Saint Mary's doubles unit of Dueppe and Koyuncu set an early tone for the Spires by taking the top doubles match 6-4 over Oliver Kocanovic and Marinescu. The duo's win gave the Spires momentum and one of three doubles courts, as they outlasted SBU's top pair with consistent serving and timely returns.
SBU controlled the remaining doubles action, with Alejandro Beneyto and Juani Morresi defeating Carlos Grimaldi and Korbin Preistley 6-1, and the team of Federico Riolo and Romain Ramuz topping Maritz and Leyton Ross 6-3. Those two results, along with SBU's depth in singles, ultimately created too large a gap for Saint Mary to overcome in the overall team score.
In singles, the Spires faced a strong SBU lineup that claimed five of six courts. Dueppe dropped a 6-3, 6-1 decision to Beneyto in the top singles match, while Koyuncu fell 6-0, 6-2 to Morresi. Preistley lost 6-4, 6-1 to Ramuz, and Ross was edged 6-0, 6-1 by Kocanovic. Riolo added another point for SBU with a comeback win over Grimaldi, 1-6, 7-5, 10-3 in a match tiebreak, as the hosts closed out the dual.
Despite the final margin, USM walked away with encouraging individual performances, particularly from Maritz in singles and the Dueppe/Koyuncu pairing in doubles. The Spires also gained experience against a deep SBU squad that won five singles and two doubles matches on the day.
The Spires will look to build on the bright spots from Bolivar as they continue the young season this Sunday with a double header in Lawrence, Kansas at Genesis Health Clubs on February 22nd with the first match against Concordia Unviersity set for 2:30 p.m. and their second match against the Baker Wildcats at 9:30 p.m. The USM women will also open up this weekend in Lawrence against Baker and Concordia with the first match set for 7:30 a.m. against the Wildcats and 12:00 p.m. versus the Bulldogs.
