College Tennis News - LMU Gets Big Win Over Big Green

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One of the hottest teams around continued its tear Wednesday, as Loyola Marymount men's tennis topped Dartmouth 4-3 at the LMU Tennis Center. After a 1-6 start, the Lions have not won seven of their last eight matches, now standing at 8-7 overall.

LMU faced tough competition from the Big Green from the beginning, as the doubles point was highly contested. Linas Cicenas and Mike Wojnarowicz got the Lions off to a good start, winning 8-2 at the top doubles spot. The win puts the dual at 7-0 at No. 1 doubles.

"Linas and Mike took care of business once again," LMU Head Coach Nik DeVore said.

Dartmouth evened things in doubles by defeating Mike Chan and Nico Terrien 8-4 at the No. 3 spot, leaving the doubles point up to Matt Phillips and Carlos Malet at the No. 2 spot. Phillips and Malet were down 5-2 and two breaks of serve, but stormed back to take a 6-5 advantage. The Lions were finally able to break for the win and secured the doubles point to give LMU the 1-0 lead. This point would prove to be the difference in the match when the singles competition was complete.

In singles play, Terrien was first off the court with a 6-2, 7-6 win at the No. 1 spot. That win marks the junior's sixth win in his last seven matches.

Carlos Malet then put the Lions up 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-4, win at the No. 6 spot. "Carlos really came through for us today when we needed him, both in singles and in doubles," DeVore said. "You never know when you are going to need someone new to step up and save the day."

After Malet's win at The No. 6 spot, LMU was looking to secure one more point for the victory. That point finally came when junior Reyniere Roxas defeated Dartmouth's Raj Shrestha at No. 3 7-6, 6-3. "Reyniere was just steady today," DeVore said. "He didn't have his `A-game,' but he out fought his opponent."

The singles losses at spots No. 2, 4, and 5 were all three set battles, but the outcomes made the victories of Malet and Roxas crucial.

The win left the Lions undefeated against the Ivy League opponents this year, as LMU posted wins over Dartmouth, Princeton, and Yale.

After a nine-match homestand, the Lions now hit the road for the state of Utah. LMU plays Utah Friday, Utah State Saturday, and at Weber State Sunday.

-GO LIONS-