USU men’s tennis team sweeps MSU, 7-0
LOGAN— Utah State University’s men’s tennis team took on Montana State University on Sunday and walked away with a 7-0 victory.
The Aggies came into the game with a record of 4-0, still perfect for the season. What makes this win even more incredible is the Bobcats also entered this match with a perfect record.
The Aggies had a hot start of the meet in their doubles play.
In the first set, Aggies Stijn Paardekooper and Nuno Pinheiro took on Bobcats Andras Necz and Rayen Hermassi. The Aggies had a clear victory in this match with a score of 6-3.
The second set consisted of Aggies Stefan Vedovelli and Bodin Zarkovic against Bobcats Andre Stewart and Adrian Daniel. The Aggies took this set with a score of 6-2.
They did not play all the way through because the first two sets had been won, so in the final set Bobcats Dario Ciobotaru and Kanika Jayathilake played against Aggies Mohammad Alkotop and David Martirosian. The final score at the end of this set was 4-3 in favor of the Aggies.
Aggies played a shut-out game all the way to the end of the entire match.
For the first singles match, Zarkovic played Ciobotaru. The first set was won decisively for the Aggies at 6-3. The second set was closer with a score of 7-6 for the Aggies. This resulted in their fourth point in the overall score.
For the second match, Paardekooper took on Necz and conquered him in both sets. Each score was 6-3 and resulted in the team’s third point in the overall score.
Aggie Sergi Fenollar and Stewart played for the third singles match. Fenollar routed Stewart completely with a score of 6-0 in both sets. This was the only match with a player not winning one game and was the second point for the overall score.
The fourth match was the only one to go to three sets. Pinheiro beat Hermassi in the first set 6-2. Hermassi kept Pinheiro on his toes in the second set with a win over the Aggie, 6-3. The final set went to Pinheiro, 6-3. This was the fifth overall point for the Aggies.
Alkotop took on Jayathilake in the fifth match. Alkotop followed suit and beat the Bobcat in two sets with scores of 6-1 and 7-5. This was the seventh and final overall point for the Aggies.
The sixth match was Vedovelli against Daniel. The Bobcat couldn’t keep up with the Aggie, and Daniel lost both sets, 6-3 and 6-4.
The final score was 7-0 in favor of the Aggies, which brings the Aggie record to 5-0.
Coach Aaron Paajanen felt good about the way his team played after the game.
“We all came out and competed and executed things we have been working on,” Paajanen said.
When asked about the mentality he tries to keep with his team, Paajanen said, “It really had nothing to do with our opponent. And it hasn’t had anything to do with our opponents up to this point. It’s been about what we can control.”
The next men’s match is Feb. 11 at the Sports Academy against University of Denver.