Southern Illinois University
McKendree
Salukis finish with a blowout win over McKendree University
02/20/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
By Katja Sonkeng
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki men's tennis team opened its five-match home stand with an impressive 7-0 win over McKendree University on Friday afternoon at the Garden Grove Event Center in Carbondale. With its second victory in this spring season, the Salukis are now 2-6 on the season.
Led by SIU's No. 1 doubles duo, sophomore Michal Kianicka and freshman Alex Pozo, who topped their opponents 6-3, the Salukis started off strong in the doubles competition. Freshmen duo Aidan Saggers and Max Phipps followed their example, knocking out their counterparts 6-2.
"Doubles weren't necessarily pretty, but we got the point," head coach Dann Nelson said.
It was much of the same in singles as the Salukis won all six pairings to put away the Bearcats to clinch their second victory of the season.
In the first two singles spots, SIU junior Jonny Rigby and sophomore Michal Kianicka drowned their McKendree opponents easily, each winning 6-3, 6-3. For both Salukis, it's the fifth consecutive singles match both have won this season.
Freshman Peter Molloy and senior Szymon Opieczonek registered their first singles wins of the spring season, defeating their counterparts in the fourth and sixth seeds. Freshman Alex Pozo added another point for the Salukis by sweeping McKendree's Alvarez 6-0, 6-2 in the third spot, while it took Daniel Martinez three sets to bring home his match against Arapeta Collier.
"We're very happy that we took care of business today against a pretty good McKendree team, and we're looking forward to playing a very good Eastern team tomorrow," Nelson said.
The Salukis' next meet, originally scheduled for tomorrow against Eastern Illinois, has been rescheduled due to weather. The Salukis will face the Panthers on Wednesday, March 4 at 1 p.m.
Complete Results
Doubles
W: Michal Kianicka/Alex Pozo (SIU) def. Aleix Alvarez/ Maximilian Ilic (McKendree) 6-3
DNF: Jonny Rigby/Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) vs. Brueck/Ben Muller (McKendree) 2-5
W: Aidan Saggers/Max Phipps (SIU) def. Arapeta Collier-Waiomio / Anwesh Roy (McKendree) 6-2
Singles
W: Jonny Rigby (SIU) def. Maximilian Ilic (McKendree) 6-3, 6-3
W: Michal Kianicka (SIU) def. Sebastian Brueck (McKendree) 6-3, 6-3
W: Alex Pozo (SIU) def. Aleix Alvarez (McKendree) 6-0, 6-2
W: Szymon Opieczonek (SIU) def. Ben Muller (McKendree) 6-1, 3-6, 10-2
W: Daniel Martinez (SIU) def. Arapeta Collier-Waiomio (McKendree) 6-2, 6-7 (4), 10-4
W: Peter Molloy (SIU) def. Anwesh Roy (McKendree) 6-0, 6-3
Players Mentioned
