Los Angeles, CA -The Oxy men's tennis team knocked off the #25 team in the country, the Christopher Newport Captains, at home on Sunday. They won the duel 8-1.
The doubles matches began at noon and the conditions were hot and sunny. Competition proved to be tight with both sides bringing high levels of energy.
Senior David Zhang and Junior Seth Lipe at the #2 doubles spot were the first to finish with a score of 8-4. They made several big plays by charging the net. Both the #1 and #3 teams had to settle their matches in tiebreakers. Matt O'Connor and Sam Coan at #1 secured the win with a 7-3 tiebreaker score. Brett Miller and Zach Haas won their tiebreaker 7-2 at the #3 spot.
The Tigers carried the momentum from their united doubles victory into their singles matches. Matt O'Connor had a blowout win of 6-0, 6-0 over Christopher Newport's #1 singles player. David Zhang was resilient in his match at #2, fighting off his opponent's comeback. He won 6-3, 7-5.
Two more matches included tiebreakers but ultimately came out in Oxy's favor. Michael Abagyan secured a 7-6(2), 6-2 victory at #3 and Sam Coan won in a third set tie breaker at #4. Chris Swanson sealed the deal with a 6-2, 6-3 win at #6.
Oxy head coach Tim Gray shared after the match, "This was a really solid team effort today. We came out a little sluggish and nervous in the doubles, but the guys showed their true Tiger spirit and were able to turn it around and sweep the doubles. We kept that energy for the entirety of the singles. We have to continue to work hard and build on this effort."
The men's next match is on Friday, March 11th at 1:00 PM. It will be held at home at the Family McKinnon Tennis Center.
