Southern Illinois University
Tennessee Tech
Men's Tennis dropped by Tennessee Tech
02/21/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2010
By Michael Benson
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki men's tennis team struggled to find their groove Saturday, as they eventually fell to Tennessee Tech, 6-1.
The loss drops the team to 2-3 on the young season.
"We competed well today but just did not win the big points to put us in the win column," said Saluki head coach Dann Nelson.
Recording the lone win for Southern was Falk De Beenhouwer, who won in three sets against TTU's Oscar Pachon 7-6, 3-6, 10-6.
However, the rest of the team didn't find the same success.
SIU lost all three matches in doubles. However, two of the three were determined by two or less games, as Brandon Florez and Chikara Kidera lost to the Golden Eagles' Josh Girling and Nick Stafford, 8-6. Meanwhile, Mpilo Migogo and Orhan Spahic - playing together for the first time ever - nearly came away with a win, but fell to Alex Chen and Lloyd Harris, 8-7.
"I was pleased with the way we battled in doubles and with our final scores, especially at number two doubles with Orhan and Mpilo, being the first time that they have played together," Nelson said.
Saturday also saw the singles return of senior Anton Leonenko, who missed most of the fall and spring with injuries. Yet, Leonenko's return was not a memorable one, losing to Arturo Santa Ruize 6-0, 7-6.
"Anton started slow, but battled all the way back and could have won the second set," Nelson said. "Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Not a bad performance since he has not played a singles match since September."
The Salukis will next be in action Saturday, Feb. 27, when they face the UIC Flames. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at the Hinsdale Racquet Club.
Players Mentioned
