Tennis Improves to 16-1 Combined at Home with Wins vs. Wagner

Sunday, March 8

Drexel Armory

2 p.m.

Drexel University

Wagner

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Tennis Improves to 16-1 Combined at Home with Wins vs. Wagner

3/8/2015 7:04:00 PM | Women's Tennis

PHILADELPHIA – Drexel Tennis capped a solid weekend with wins over Wagner at the Armory on Sunday. The men beat the Seahawks, 5-2, while the women blanked them, 7-0.

The Dragons' men improve to 10-5 overall this season. This is the first time they have reached 10 wins since the 2007-08 season. The women now hold an 11-1 overall mark. Drexel has combined for a 16-1 record at home.

"The men played well today," head coach Mehdi Rhazali said. "They played aggressively and the way we practice and want to play. We have to take care of our bodies now and recover fast for the upcoming matches.

"On the women's side, we moved around our lineup to challenge other players, and I'm satisfied with how we played as a team. We are confident and hungry. We just need to stay humble and focus on one match at a time."

On the women's side, the Dragons controlled the match from wire to wire. In doubles play, Nicole Pivonka and Clary Rodriguez Cruz continued their dominance as a pair, winning, 6-3. Erin Bowsher and Ryshena Providence blanked their opponent, while Lea Winkler and Kendra Bunch sealed the sweep with a, 6-2, victory.

In singles, Drexel shuffled its lineup around to get others opportunities. And the move paid off, as the Dragons won across the board. Bowsher moved into the No. 1 spot, winning, 6-0 6-3. Rodriguez Cruz bested her Seahawks opposition, 6-1, 6-1. Providence swept her way to victory, and fellow freshman Bunch won with ease, 6-1, 6-0. Fiorella Coria and Jennifer White each saw action in today's match, each winning their matches. Coria won, 6-3, 6-0, while White took her match, 6-2, 6-4.

Drexel's men started the day with a 5-2 victory. The Dragons set the tone early, winning all three of the doubles matches with relative ease to take the important point. In singles play, Kashyap Ashok won a hard-fought three-set match in the No. 2 position, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7). But the Dragons lost at the first and third positions – including a tough 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-2 loss at No. 3 – and the match went into the fourth, fifth and sixth matches even at 2-2 overall.

That's where the Dragons took care of business, however. Xabier Saavedra, Hamza Laalej and Dan Koehler all breezed through their opponents to clinch the match for Drexel. Saavedra won, 6-3, 6-1; Laalej took his match, 6-2, 6-2; and Koehler earned the victory, 6-1, 6-4.

The Dragons will return to the court on Saturday, March 14 as they host NJIT at Vidas Courts, the first outdoor match of the spring season.

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Women: Drexel 7, Wagner 0
Singles
Erin Bowsher (DU) def. Marina Rull Valvieso (WC) 6-0, 6-3
Clary Rodriguez Cruz (DU) def. Sam Hodges (WC) 6-1, 6-1
Ryshena Providence (DU) def. Madison Pautsch (WC) 6-0, 6-0
Kendra Bunch (DU) def. Rachel Jurgielewicz (WC) 6-1, 6-0
Fiorella Coria (DU) def. Kari Rezac (WC) 6-3, 6-0
Jennifer White (DU) def. Jenna Harris (WC) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles
Pivonka & Rodriguez Cruz (DU) def. Rull Valvieso & Pautsch (WC) 6-3
Bowsher & Providence (DU) def. Harris & Gibson (WC) 6-0
Winkler & Bunch (DU) def. Hodges & Jurgielewicz (WC) 6-2

Men: Drexel 5, Wagner 2
Singles
Michal Rolski (WC) def. Badr Ouabdelmoumen (DU) 7-6, 6-4
Kashyap Ashok (DU) def. Juan Alanis (WC) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7)
Ryan Khan (WC) def. Alex Fioravante (DU) 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-2
Xabier Saavedra (DU) def. Allen Wang (WC) 6-3, 6-1
Hamza Laalej (DU) def. Sam Flaxman (WC) 6-2, 6-2
Dan Koehler (DU) def. Jakob Mostyn-Kolb (WC) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
Fioravante & Saavedra (DU) def. Rolski & Alanis (WC) 6-1
Ashok & Koehler (DU) def. Khan & Wang (WC) 6-1
Ouabdelmoumen & Hansen (DU) def. Flaxman & Boyd WC) 6-2