Southern Illinois University
Austin Peay
Salukis down Governors with complete team effort
02/26/2016 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
Tony McDaniel
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.—Southern Illinois (6-1) avenged a 5-2 loss to Austin Peay State (0-4) last season with a 7-0 win on Friday.
The Salukis cruised through their match against the Governors from the start of doubles to the end of singles play. SIU did not drop a set throughout the entire match.
"I'm really proud of the guys," SIU coach Dann Nelson said. "We did not overlook Austin Peay. The guys played really well from top to bottom."
SIU's dominance started in doubles play. The Salukis took 6-1 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. At No. 3 doubles, Peter Molloy and Daniel Martinez were on their way to a third doubles victory, but their match was cut short and remained unfinished.
In singles play the Salukis rolled with six wins in six matches. Jonny Rigby won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 single, eventually calling it his best match of the season.
"Jonny Rigby really stood out for us today." Nelson said. "I wasn't able to chart his match, but I think he had very few unforced errors. Jonny was outstanding today."
Wilder Pimentel defeated Manuel Montenegro, 6-0, 6-3. With their wins, Rigby and Pimentel each improved to 6-1 on the season in singles play. At No. 5 singles, Alex Pozo defeated Alex Kartsonis 6-0, 6-1 to clinch the victory for SIU.
The closest match of the day was at No. 3 singles. SIU's Piotr Baranski went down early in the first set to Austin Peay's Almantas Ozelis, but fought back to win the first set in a tie breaker. He followed up his first set victory with a 6-2 win in the second set. It was the second straight singles match where Baranski fought back from a deficit in the opening set and won his match. Baranski also won his match in doubles, and is 6-0 in his short Saluki career.
With the win, SIU earned its sixth-straight victory and tied its total number of wins from last season. The team is off to its best start since 2013 when the Salukis went 8-2 through the first ten games. The Salukis' win gives them an 8-7 lead in the all-time series against Austin Peay.
Next on the schedule for SIU is a match against McKendree on Sunday at noon at Sportsblast in the Garden Grove Event Center.
Match Results
Doubles results
Rigby/Baranski def. Montenegro/Ozelis 6-1
Pimentel/Pozo def. Jumonville/Mitchell 6-1
Molloy/Martinez vs. Drobysh/Kartsonis Unfinished
Singles matches
Rigby def. Jumonville 6-1, 6-1
Pimentel def. Montenegro 6-0, 6-3
Baranski def. Ozelis 7-6 (5), 6-2
Molloy def. Mitchell 6-0, 6-4
Pozo def. Kartsonis 6-0, 6-1
Martinez def. Woodham 6-3, 6-1
Players Mentioned
