Men's Tennis Falls in Tough Loss to Colgate Saturday, 4-3

Saturday, February 27

RiverWinds

7 p.m.

Drexel University

Colgate

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Tennis Falls in Tough Loss to Colgate Saturday, 4-3

2/27/2016 11:36:00 PM | Men's Tennis

WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. -- Drexel men's tennis fell in a hard-fought match, 4-3, to the Colgate Raiders on Saturday night at RiverWinds Golf and Tennis Club, 7-0, while the women swept, 7-0

Drexel's women improved to 7-2 on the season, while the men dropped 7-3 on the year.

"The men's match was another tough one," head coach Mehdi Rhazali said. "The doubles points in these sorts of matches are important, and we need to handle the pressure points better. Winning four of the six singles matches was going to be a tough task. We still are working on improving our habits, because that's what stays with us in tough moments and that's all we can control. We will head back to practice and keep working on it."

"Great win for the girls today. We did exactly what we worked on. With Honami [Yazawa] injured, the team kept their composure, played smart and rose to play at higher positions."

Drexel's men dropped a tough 4-3 match to fall for the second time this week after losing to Monmouth on Wednesday. The Dragons conceded the all-important doubles point as Colgate earned wins at Nos. 1 and 3. Sinan Orhon and Kashyap Ashok won at No. 2, 6-2, for the Dragons' only win in doubles.

The Dragons fought in singles play, pushing the Raiders to three three-set matches. Xabier Saavedra came back from a set down at No. 2 to win, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Drexel needed to sweep the bottom half of the singles draw and got what they needed from Hamza Laalej at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2, and Orhon at No. 6-3, 7-6 (8). However, the Dragons ended up splitting the singles matches, and ultimately fell overall.

The Dragons' women, coming off a tough loss to Villanova last weekend, bounced back in a big way. In doubles play, Drexel won at Nos. 2 and 3. The dynamic duo Kendra Bunch and Lea Winkler took home the 6-1 victory, followed by Erin Bowsher and Ryshena Providence winning 6-2.

In singles play, with everbody getting bounced up a spot with Honami Yazawa out, the Dragons thrived. Not one player needed a third set to win their match. Clary Rodriguez Cruz earned the toughest win of the match, 6-4, 7-5, followed by Bowsher at No. 2 with the 6-2, 6-1. Winkler grabbed the the sweep at No. 3, then Bunch eanred a 6-1, 6-0 win. At No. 5, Providence won, 6-2, 6-1, while Anisiya Simpson won her first dual match of the spring season at No. 6 with a 6-1, 6-0 win.

The Dragons will return to action next weekend when they host Wagner on Saturday and travel to NJIT on Sunday.

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Men: Colgate 4, Drexel 3
Singles
Daughery (COL) DEF Andrew Sinai (DU), 6-1, 6-2
Xabier Saavedra (DU) DEF Laub (COL), 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Rosenblat (COL) DEF Balaji Lakshmanan (COL), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Hamza Laalej (DU) DEF Alter (COL), 6-4, 6-2
Sinan Orhon (DU) DEF Hirschberg (COL), 6-3, 7-6 (8)
Reynolds (COL) DEF Vuk Subotic (DU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2

Doubles
Daugherty & Haile (COL) DEF Laalej & Lakshmanan (DU), 7-6
Orhon & Ashok (DU) DEF Alter & Laub (COL), 6-2
Hirschberg & Reynolds (COL) DEF Sinai & Saavedra (DU), 6-4

Women: Drexel 7, Colgate 0
Singles
Clary Rodriguez Cruz (DU) DEF Hyland (COL), 6-4, 7-5
Erin Bowsher (DU) DEF Ho (COL), 6-2, 6-1
Lea Winkler (DU) DEF Brittin (COL), 6-0, 6-0
Kendra Bunch (DU) DEF Grant (COL), 6-1, 6-0
Ryshena Providence (DU) DEF Szczech (COL), 6-2, 6-1
Anisiya Simpson (DU) DEF Klein (COL), 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
Hyland & Ho (COL) DEF Yazawa & Rodriguez Cruz (DU), default
Winkler & Bunch (DU) DEF Brittin & Grant (COL), 6-1
Bowsher & Providence (DU) DEF Szczech & Klein (COL), 6-2