SMU Tennis Wins DoubleHeader
DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU men’s tennis team collected two wins on Sunday, beating both DePaul and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), 7-0 and 6-1 respectively inside the Ann and Brad Family Pavilion at the SMU Tennis Complex. SMU is 3-2 on the season.
The Mustangs got off to a hot start, winning the doubles point quickly with wins on court one and two. Juniors Hunter andYates Johnson won 6-2 over Sten Leusink and Tim Corwin. Senior Nate Lammons and junior Markus Kerner gave SMU the early 1-0 lead after winning the second doubles match 6-3 over Alex Galoustian and Nathan de Veer.
In singles play, sophomore Samm Butler got the scoring going for SMU with a 6-1, 6-3 win Galoustian. Kerner gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead after beating de Veer 6-1, 6-4. Sophomore Ronald Slobodchikov got the match-clinching point for SMU, earning a 6-2, 6-3 win over Paul John.
“It was a very good day of tennis for us and we’re looking to improve on a number of things from each guy,” said Head CoachCarl Neufeld. “The competition was good, DePaul has been a ranked team most years and I thought we played exceptionally well, our doubles was the best it’s been and we’re
excited about that.”
The Mustangs had a brief break before hosting UTRGV. The Johnson twins set the tone once again getting the first doubles victory of the match, 6-1 over Elliot Johnstone and Yehonatan Kaufman. The duos of Kerner and Lammons and junior Arkadijs Slobodkins and Slobodchikov finished within minutes of each other, both winning their respected doubles match 6-2.
SMU continued its momentum into singles play, starting with Yates Johnson sweeping Cosme Jubera 6-0, 6-0. Slobodchikov pushed the Mustangs lead to 3-0 after winning 6-2, 6-4 over Ethan Ammon. Kerner decided the match with the fourth point for the Mustangs with after a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Koby Jansen. Both teams decided to continue the match after SMU collected the match-clinching point. Junior Tony Russell picked up his first dual singles win of the year after taking down Johnstone, 6-4, 6-4. Butler gave SMU its sixth and final point of the match after beating Juan Cruz Soria 6-4, 6-2.
The Mustangs continue their home stand when No. 62 Texas A&M Corpus Christi comes to visit on Thursday. Doubles action is set to begin at 6 p.m.
