Men’s team earns first win of season over PSU
The Utah State’s men’s tennis team earned its first win of the season on Saturday despite a shortened roster. Persisting through injuries and illnesses, the Aggies defeated Portland State University 6-1.
USU swept the Vikings in doubles action. No. 1 doubles pairing junior Sven Poslusny and freshman Marcus Fritz closed out PSU’s Roman Margoulis and Mitch Somach 8-3.
No. 2 doubles debuted brothers junior Lenny Whiting and sophomore Andrew Whiting, playing together for the first time in collegiate action. The brothers defeated Abhinav Mishura and Alec Marx 8-3.
Senior Nate Ballam and freshman Matt Sweet battled against Nick Fracchia and Zach Lubak in the No. 3 doubles spot. Sweet, playing with a sore right ankle, only participated in doubles, in which he and partner Ballam shut down the Vikings 8-6.
“We played awesome in doubles — great energy,” said assistant coach Bryan Marchant. “(That) set the tone for the rest of the match”
Capturing the doubles point, the Aggies continued with the momentum in singles action.
Missing No. 2 singles Fredrick Peterson to illness, USU was forced to make a change to its lineup. Fellow Swedish player Fritz played in Peterson’s spot and easily defeated PSU’s Fracchia 6-0, 6-3.
No. 1 singles player Poslusny exhibited athletic ability to beat Viking Margoulis in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
“I am very proud of how (Poslusny) finished,” Marchant said. “He stayed tough and played right.”
Lenny Whiting also dismissed his opponent in straight sets in the No. 4 singles position 6-4, 7-5. Ballam beat PSU’s Fracchia, 6-2, 6-4 in No. 5 singles. Brandon Nielsen, a sophomore from Logan, defeated Lubek 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 6 singles position.
The only loss for the Aggies came from the No. 3 singles position when freshman Curran Wearmouth battled PSU’s Somach but fell 6-7, 5-7.
“He has had to play some tough opponents. Every match has been battles,” Marchant said of Wearmouth. “He works hard, and he believes in himself.”
With a week-long break, the Aggies return to action against Mesa State at Sports Academy on Saturday, Feb. 11.
Women’s Tennis
The Utah State women’s tennis team headed to Bozeman, Mont., this weekend for a double meet against University of New Mexico on Friday and Montana State on Saturday.
USU 3, UNM 4
Utah State was handed a difficult loss to University of New Mexico. Jumping ahead early, USU could not continue momentum to get the win after sweeping UNM in doubles.
Utah State’s No. 1 singles player Jaci West fell to UNM’s Michaela Bezdickova in straight sets 3-6, 1-6. No. 2 singles Kristina Voytskehovich followed West, losing 2-6, 1-6. No. 5 singles Julie Tukuafu lost to UNM’s Nikolina Grbac 5-7, 3-6. No. 6 singles player Brianna Rowland lost two tie breakers to fall 6-7, 6-7 to Michaela Oldani.
USU’s two wins came from freshman McKenzie Davis and senior Romina Nedakovic. In the No. 3 singles position Davis defeated Kristin Eggleston 6-4, 6-2, and in the No. 4 singles Nedakovic beat Maria Sablina 6-4, 6-4.
USU 6, MSU 1
Rebounding from a tough loss Friday, USU came back to defeat Montana State University 6-1.
Sweeping the Bobcats in doubles, USU took all the singles matches except No. 5 singles, in which Tukuafu lost to MSU’s Andrea De La Torre 6-2, 6-2.
No. 3 singles Voytsekovich battled Bobcat Ellie Crum three sets, eventually taking the match 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
The Aggies return to action against Idaho State University on Feb. 9.
– mega.bodi@aggiemail.usu.edu