VILLANOVA, Pa.—Despite cool conditions and gusty swirling winds, Villanova (3-2) was a winner in its first outdoor match of the season with a 6-1 victory over La Salle (1-2) at the Villanova Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon. Freshman
Josh Robinson (Potomac, Md.) rallied to win his No. 2 singles match in three sets and clinch the team results for the Wildcats, who have won three straight matches overall.
"It was great to play a match outside and at home today," Villanova head coach
Brad Adams said. "There were some tough conditions with the wind that both teams had to fight through. It took some time for our guys to find their games in the weather and I give a lot of credit to La Salle as many of their players were scrappy and pushed us. It was a great effort for the team and in the end our guys bared down, stuck with a winning strategy and locked up their mental games."
The match got off to a strong start for the Wildcats, who swept the three doubles matches to claim the first team point of the day. Villanova has now run its winning streak in doubles play to eight straight matches over its last three dual competitions against Lafayette, Coppin State and La Salle. The sophomore duo of
Alex Kim (Cary, N.C.) and
Justin Suarez (Manila, Philippines) defeated Rogelio Gonzales and Connor Merrill by a 6-3 decision at the No. 1 position to clinch the doubles point.
"We played the best doubles of the year today and our guys' energy during the doubles point was electric," Adams said.
The other two doubles teams were freshmen
Eitan Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J.) and
Anthony Prokurat (Manalapan, N.J.) in the No. 2 spot as well as Robinson and junior
Matthew Jones (Dallas, Texas) in the No. 3 match. Khromchenko and Prokurat outlasted Nassim Fenjiro and Colin Lucius for a 7-6 (3) victory, while Robinson and Jones teamed up for a 6-2 win over Brandon Caban and Dylan Tull.
Three of the six singles matches went to a third set as the teams battled back and forth, but the Wildcats wound up winning all three of those matches in the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the lineup. Robinson powered past Merrill for the clinching win at No. 2 with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-0 decision. Khromchenko was a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) winner at No. 3 and sophomore
Daniel Cheng (Los Angeles, Calif.) defeated Lucius (5-7, 6-1, 6-3) in the No. 4 match.
Villanova also scored wins in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches behind the play of Prokurat and freshman
Ryan Nguyen (Oakton, Va.). Prokurat was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Tull in the No. 5 match and Nguyen beat Caban with a 6-2, 6-3 decision in the sixth spot. La Salle claimed its lone point of the day with Gonzalez' win over Kim (6-0, 6-3) in the No. 1 singles match.
"We lost four first sets in singles but I thought our guys showed some grit as the matches went on," Adams said.
Villanova will look to carry over the momentum from three straight dual victories into a busy week of competition. The team takes on Temple on Wednesday morning at Cherry Hill Racquet Club before returning home next weekend for outdoor matches against Monmouth on Saturday and Mount St. Mary's on Sunday.
