Northern Kentucky’s men’s tennis started off its pair of weekend matches on the right foot, taking down Dayton in a 4-0 decision for the first blanking of an opponent of the 2017 season.
Match Notables
· The Norse saw their top doubles team fall in the start of the match, but the No. 2 and 3 pairings rallied for wins to secure the opening point. Blaine Carr and Adrian Isache teamed up in the No. 2 slot to take down Benjamin Jordan and Lorenzo Rollhauser, while Javier Araya and Andrew Niehaus provided the clinching win in No. 3 doubles over Andy Druffel and Bernardo Sanson, with both sets favoring the Norse, 6-4.
· Court Clark was the first Norse to win in singles, coming out of the gates quickly with a 6-1 win over Sanson in the opening set. The Flyers pushed back in the second set, but Clark pulled away from a 4-4 tie to seal the win with a 6-4 second set.
· Araya was the only member of the team to notch a victory in both singles and doubles, playing in the No. 2 singles spot for the first time this season. The sophomore took down Zach Berry in matching 6-4 sets to put the Norse just one point away from victory.
· Mate Virag had an emotional match over Dayton’s No. 1 player, Jordan Benjamin. The two had previously met in the semifinals of the Greater Cincinnati Invitational, with Benjamin advancing to the final of the main draw following a marathon match that went 14-12 in the tiebreak. This time around, Benjamin took an early lead over Virag, at one point holding a 5-2 edge on the Norse, but Virag rattled off three straight to tie it up and used the momentum to secure a 7-6(6) win in the opening set. He then clinched the match in the second set, 6-3.
· NKU will host Chattanooga tomorrow afternoon at Five Seasons Sport Club in Crestview Hills, Ky. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
For more information on NKU’s men’s and women’s tennis program, follow the team on Twitter @NKUNorseTennis or at facebook.com/nkunorsetennis.
Agate
NKU 4, Dayton 0
Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 2, 1*)
1. Mate Virag (NKU) def. Jordan Benjamin (UD) 7-6(6), 6-3
2. Javier Araya (NKU) def. Carsten Fisher (UD) 6-4, 6-4
3. Lukas Clemens (NKU) vs. Zach Berry (UD) 7-5, 5-7, 4-0, unfinished
4. Andrew Niehaus (NKU) vs. Simon Jayaram (UD) 4-6, 7-5, 2-2, unfinished
5. Court Clark (NKU) def. Bernardo Sanson (UD) 6-1, 6-4
6. Adrian Isache (NKU) vs. Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD) 5-7, 6-3, 2-2
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*)
1. Carsten Fisher/Zach Berry (UD) def. Lukas Clemens/Mate Virag (NKU) 6-3
2. Blaine Carr/Adrian Isache (NKU) def. Jordan Benjamin/Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD) 6-4
3. Javier Araya/Andrew Niehaus (NKU) def. Andy Druffel/Bernardo Sanson (UD) 6-4
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Chloe Smith
Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Northern Kentucky University