The McKendree University men's tennis team fell to No.7 Drury University by a final score of 4-3 on Sunday.
The Bearcats began the match by securing the much coveted doubles point. Freshman
Subash Paramasivan (Chennai, Tamil Nadu India/SARASWATHI KENDRA) and junior
Vishnu Prasad (Chennai, India/National Institute of Open Schooling) won at number one doubles 6-4 and sophomore
Jaydn Richardson (Wichita, KS/Andover) teamed up with sophomore
Santiago Tintore (Barcelona, Spain/Leon XIII) to win the other doubles match 6-3.
In singles play, sophomore
Leonardo Frederico (Tijucas-Santa Cantrina, Brazil/Colégio de Aplicação Univali) secured a win at second singles 6-2, 6-4. Sophomore
Ryan Fung (Miami, Fl/Miami Palmetto Senior High) claimed the other singles win for the Bearcats 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. The match would come down to number one singles where Prasad was squaring off against Drury's Nico Hadeler. Hadeler would come from behind to defeat Prasad by a final score of 1-6, 7-6, 3-6.
"I am very proud of all McKendree tennis players. Men and women did a great job this weekend. We are practicing very hard, and this is proof that we can compete against everyone," said Frederico following the match. "Being that close to beat the No. 7 team in the country shows the quality of our program. I'm very excited for the next matches of the season."
"Winning the doubles point against Drury, the No. 7 team in the country, is a big step forward for our men's team," said head coach René Vidal, "And Vishnu being up 3-1 in the 3rd set with the team score tied at 3-3 says a lot about who we are and where we are going as a program. Next time we'll capitalize."
The Bearcats return to action on on March 20
th when they travel to the St. Louis Mo to take on the University of Missouri St Louis.
Doubles
- Paramasivan/Prasad Def. Hadeler/Wilken 6-4
- Diot/Garin-Michaud Def. Frederico/ Fund 3-6
- Richardson/Tintore Def. Ogilvy/Stierling 6-3
Singles
- Hadeler Def. Prasad 1-6, 7-6, 6-3
- Fredrico Def. Garin-Michaud 6-2, 6-4
- Diot Def. Paramasivan 6-0, 6-1
- Wilken Def. Reddy 6-2, 6-4
- Fung def. Ogilvy 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
- Stierling Def. Richardson 6-4, 6-3.
