Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
SIU Fall Classic (EIU)
Salukis come out strong at home at SIU Fall Classic
10/18/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
By Katja Sonkeng
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki men's tennis team played a strong tournament on Saturday, finishing 13-11 overall, as they hosted Eastern Illinois for the SIU Fall Classic.
SIU junior Jonny Rigby, who was recently named MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week, led the Salukis in singles with an almost clean sweep over Preston Touliatos 6-1, 6-0 in the morning, and another blown-out match against Robert Skolik (6-2, 6-0) later in the afternoon.
Inspired by his strong showing, SIU freshmen Alex Pozo, Daniel Martinez and Peter Molloy topped each of their Panther competitors. Sophomore Michal Kianicka and senior Szymon Opieczonek also added their singles wins to the overall Saluki record. Kianicka and Pozo each played hard-fought matches, rallying back from 4-1 deficits to ultimately take the lead and secure wins.
"These are things that I am proud of," head coach Dann Nelson said. "When they are down and they fight back and then end up winning their matches, that makes us feel good about what we are doing."
The Salukis had a strong showing in doubles play, winning five of eight doubles matches. The Saluki No. 1 doubles duo of Rigby and Kianicka went undefeated again, overcoming their competitors 8-2 and 8-1. The pair advances to 7-1 overall on the season. Freshman Alex Pozo came away with two doubles wins - one with Max Phipps and the other with Aidan Saggers. Peter Molloy and Daniel Martinez came away with the Salukis' fifth doubles win of the day.
"We moved some doubles around and played some different combinations that we didn't have a lot of time to practice with before we played. But the guys did very well, which was good to see," Nelson said. "We had a big week of conditioning and still came out and fought very hard."
The Salukis will close out their fall season in Des Moines, Iowa at the Bulldog Jamboree hosted by Drake University beginning Oct. 31.
SIU Results
Singles
W: Alex Pozo (SIU) def. Grant Thompson (EIU) - 6-4, 6-4
W: Daniel Martinez (SIU) def. Grant Reiman (EIU) - 7-5, 6-2
L: Rui Silva (EIU) def. Max Phipps - 7-6, 6-0
L: David Constantinescu (EIU) def. Ransom Braaten (SIU) - 6-2, 6-2
L: Jared Woodson (EIU) def. Aidan Saggers (EIU) - 6-1, 2-6, 10-5
W: Jonny Rigby (SIU) def. Robert Skolik (EIU) - 6-2, 6-0
L: Preston Touliatos (EIU) def. Michal Kianicka (SIU) - 6-3, 3-0 (retired)
L: Ryan Henderson (EIU) def. Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) - 1-6, 6-4, 10-8
W: Jonny Rigby (SIU) def. Preston Touliatos (EIU) - 6-1, 6-0
W: Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Robert Skolik (EIU) - 6-2, 6-0
W: Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) def. Grant Thompson (EIU) - 6-0, 7-5
W: Alex Pozo (SIU) def. Ryan Henderson (EIU) - 7-6, 6-3
L: Rui Silva (EIU) def. Daniel Martinez (SIU) - 6-2, 6-0
W: Peter Molloy (SIU) def. Grant Reiman (EIU) - 6-3, 6-0
L: Jared Woodson (EIU) def. Ransom Braaten (SIU) - 7-5, 6-3
L: David Constantinescu (EIU) def. Aidan Saggers (SIU) - 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
W: Jonny Rigby / Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Robert Skolik / Preston Touliatos (EIU) - 8-2
W: Alex Pozo / Max Phipps (SIU) def. Rui Silva / Ryan Henderson (EIU) - 8-6
W: Jonny Rigby / Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Riu Silva / Ryan Henderson (EIU) - 8-1
L: Robert Skolik / Preston Touliatos (EIU) def. Szymon Opieczonek / Ransom Braaten (SIU) - 8-2
W: Peter Molloy / Daniel Martinez (SIU) def. Grant Reiman / Jared Woodson (EIU) - 8-5
W: Alex Pozo / Aidan Saggers (SIU) def. Grant Thompson / David Constantinescu (EIU) - 8-2
L: Grant Thompson / David Constantinescu (EIU) def. Ransom Braaten / Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) - 8-5
L: Grant Reiman / Jared Woodson (EIU) def. Aidan Saggers / Daniel Martinez (SIU) - 8-5
Players Mentioned
