Women's Tennis Rolls, Men's Tennis Earns Win At Fairfield on Friday Night

Friday, February 12

Fairfield, Conn.

6 p.m.

Drexel University

Fairfield

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Tennis Rolls, Men's Tennis Earns Win At Fairfield on Friday Night

2/12/2016 9:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Drexel Tennis opened its weekend in Connecticut with a singles-only 6-0 win for the women and a hard-fought 5-2 win for the men over the Fairfield Stags on Friday night.

Both teams improved to 5-1 on the young season with Friday's wins.

"The women had a good match," head coach Mehdi Rhazali said. "We played aggressive and moved well on the court. I'm happy with the energy with played with, and I'm looking forward to our match tomorrow with Sacred Heart."

"The men played a tight one tonight, and the matches were competitive. I'm happy with the way we played. We focused on the improvements we wanted to make after Lehigh, and this time we executed it well with better decision making and a better mentality.

The Dragons' women jumped on the Stags from the start and did not give them a chance in the match. Drexel did not drop a set the entire night. Honami Yazawa improved her record to 12-5 with a straight-set, 6-1, 6-4, win against the Stags' top play, Nicole Aragones. The junior from Tokyo, Japan will have a tough matchup ahead of her on Saturday, playing against Sacred Heart's top player, undefeated Katie DiRienzo.

The Dragons continued to roll the Stags throughout the lineup. Clary Rodriguez Cruz picked up the 6-1, 6-3 win over Karen McKeough at No. 2, followed by Erin Bowsher winning comfortably, 6-2, 6-2, over Meghan Zimmer.

The bottom half of Drexel's singles ladder continued its season-long stretch of strong play as well. Lea Winkler won handedly, 6-1, 6-3, over Courtney Connors, while Kendra Bunch took home the 6-1, 6-3, victory at No. 5. To finish things off, Ryshena Providence earned the match sweep, blanking Cecilia Parla.

Drexel's men also picked up a victory, earning a tough 5-2 win after winning an important doubles point. The Dragons got wins in the top two spots of the doubles ladder to take the point. Balaji Lakshmanan and Hamza Laalej cruised to a 6-2 win, followed by Sinan Orhon and Kashyap Ashok's 6-3 victory at No. 2.

In the singles play, the Dragons used strong play in the bottom half of the ladder to take the match. After Xabier Saavedra and Andrew Sinai dropped tight matches at the top two spots, Drexel went on to win the final four spots. Lakshmanan got the ball rolling at No. 3 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jeffrey Rodgers, and Laalej also cruised to victory with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Anthony Caputo.

The Dragons continued to dominate the bottom part of the lineup, taking wins at Nos. 5 and 6 to seal the match. Orhon got back on track with a tough three-set match against Dylan Appel, 6-4, 5-7, 10-6. Ashok followed that up with an easy 6-3, 6-1 win over Gabriel Pamich to finish off the Dragons' victory.

Drexel will finish up its two-game swing up north with a 5 p.m. match Saturday evening against Sacred Heart. The matches will be streamed live online here.

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Drexel 6, Fairfield 0
Singles
Honami Yazawa (DU) DEF Nicole Aragones (FAIR), 6-1, 6-4
Clary Rodriguez Cruz (DU) DEF Karen McKeough (FAIR), 6-1, 6-3
Erin Bowsher (DU) DEF Meghan Zimmer (FAIR), 6-2, 6-2
Lea Winkler (DU) DEF Courtney Connors (FAIR), 6-1, 6-2
Kendra Bunch (DU) DEF Gabriella Campos (FAIR), 6-1, 6-3
Ryshena Providence (DU) Cecilia Parla (FAIR), 6-0, 6-0

Men: Drexel 5, Fairfield 2
Singles
Brad Orban (FAIR) DEF Xabier Saavedra (DU), 6-1, 6-2
Ofir Solomon (FAIR) DEF Andrew Sinai (DU), 7-5, 2-6, 6-0
Balaji Lakshmanan (DU) DEF Jeffrey Rodgers (FAIR), 6-4, 6-2
Hamza Laalej (DU) DEF Anthony Caputo (FAIR), 6-2, 6-3
Sinan Orhon (DU) DEF Dylan Appel (FAIR), 6-4, 5-7, 10-6
Kashyap Ashok (DU) DEF Gabriel Pamich (FAIR), 6-3, 6-1

Doubles
Lakshmanan & Laalej (DU) DEF Caputo Solomon (FAIR), 6-2
Orhon & Ashok (DU) DEF Lemieux & Rodgers (FAIR), 6-3
Appel & Orban (FAIR) DEF Saavedra & Sinai (DU), 7-6 (4)