San Diego, Calif. - The San Diego Men's Tennis team, in their first match following the passing of head coach, Tom Hagedorn, earned a 5-2 win over the 68th ranked Harvard Crimson of the elite Ivy League. The Toreros demonstrated true gumption in securing their seventh victory of the season, having not played since Mar. 18th in which they lost to Utah, 5-2.
USD captured the doubles point by winning all three matches to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. The order of finish went in sequential fashion, as sophomores Dean Jackson and Nils Schive kicked off the USD win streak on Court 1, downing Alexei Chijoff-Evans and Alistair Felton, 8-2. The win by Torero tandem, freshman Juan de Villiers and senior Chris Coetzee, followed against Harvard's Aba Omodele-Lucien and Davis Mangham, 8-3. Wrapping up the sweep on Court 3, freshman Nikola Bubnic and sophomore Jose Manuel Munoz earned the 3rd San Diego victory on the day by defeating Tim Wu and Will Guzick by a final of 8-6.
In singles, Crimson earned the first point on Court 6, as USD's junior Levon Brown was out-muscled by Mac McAnulty, 7-5, 6-1. San Diego would quickly counter with a win at No. 5, when Munoz dropped a two set decision (6-2, 6-3) on Guzick. Harvard would then pull even with the Toreros, securing the next point at Court 4 with the win by Mangham over de Villiers, 7-6, 6-1.
But San Diego would keep its composure and go on to win the final three matches. At No. 1, Jackson won 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 against Chijoff-Evans. Clinching the match for USD was Bubnic, notching a win over Felton, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. And in the last match, Schive defeated Omodele-Lucien, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 ret.
San Diego will look to keep their winning ways alive come Sunday, April 5th against Santa Barbara on the home courts of the West Tennis Complex at 12:30 p.m. PT
University of San Diego 5, #68 Harvard University, 2
USD West Tennis Courts - San Diego, Calif.
Doubles
1. Nils Schive/Dean Jackson (USD) def. Alexei Chijoff-Evans/Alistair Felton, 8-2
2. Juan de Villiers/Chris Coetzee (USD) def. Aba Omodele-Lucien/Davis Mangham, 8-6*
3. Nikola Bubnic/Jose Manuel Munoz (USD) def. Tim Wu/Will Guzick, 8-6
*Deciding match...Order of Finish: 1, 2*, 3
USD wins doubles point.
Singles
1. Dean Jackson (USD) def. Alexei Chijoff-Evans, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
2. Nikola Bubnic (USD) def. Alistair Felton, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1*
3. Nils Schive (USD) def. Aba Omodele-Lucien, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 ret.
4. Davis Mangham (Harvard) def. Juan de Villiers,7-6, 6-1
5. Jose Manuel Munoz (USD) def. Will Guzick, 6-3, 6-2
6. Mac McAnulty (Harvard) def. Levon Brown , 7-5, 6-1
Clinching match...Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2*, 3
USD wins match, 5-2.
Match Records: University of San Diego (7-12 WCC), #68 Harvard University (8-7 Ivy)
