Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Lipscomb
Salukis blank Lipscomb, 7-0
03/09/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
March 9, 2014
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
NASHVILLE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois men's tennis team swept through Lipscomb on Sunday afternoon, 7-0. The Salukis won for the sixth time in seven matches and improved its record above .500 for the first time this season at 6-5.
"I am extremely proud of the guys and the way they competed today," head coach Dann Nelson said. "In many ways, this could have been a trap match for us after a tough match yesterday with Belmont; but we stayed focused and really played well. Even though Lipscomb did not have a full team, we knew we would have to play well to come away with a win. We knew that they would compete for every point and not give up. Today was all about our focus and not letting Lipscomb into the match. I like where we are as as a team right now. We are focused and enjoy competing, and now we go into matches expecting to win."
Lipscomb was shorthanded and playing with just five players, so SIU started the match with a 1-0 lead due to a default at No. 6 singles. Needing to win only one of the two doubles matches, Southern nonetheless won both. Jonny Rigby and Michal Kianicka easily won at No. 1 doubles 8-2, and Jorge Cavero and Szymon Opieczonek won a tiebreaker 7-4 to take an 8-7 win on court two.
Rigby won 6-4, 7-6(0) at No. 1 singles to get his seventh win in his last eight matches. Cavero also won in straight sets, as did Opieczonek and Rafael Cuardillero. Kianicka won a 12-10 super-tiebreak for a third set to get a win over Daniel Hernandez at No. 3 singles.
UP NEXT: The Salukis have a weekend off before a home match with Vincennes on March 22.
Singles competition
1. Jonny Rigby (SIU) def. Stuart Tierney (LIP) 6-4, 7-6
2. Jorge Cavero (SIU) def. Rob Mitchell (LIP) 6-4, 6-1
3. Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Daniel Hernandez (LIP) 6-7, 6-3, 12-10
4. Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) def. Miguel Cortez (LIP) 6-4, 6-4
5. Rafael Cuadrillero (SIU) def. Nacor Ibanez (LIP) 6-1, 6-3
6. Jeremy Dixon (SIU) def. No player (LIP), by default
Doubles competition
1. Jonny Rigby/Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Daniel Hernandez/Rob Mitchell (LIP) 8-2
2. Jorge Cavero/Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) def. Miguel Cortez/Stuart Tierney (LIP) 8-7
3. Filip Aleksic/Jeremy Dixon (SIU) def. No player/No player (LIP), by default
Players Mentioned
