CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University men's tennis lost its home opener to Sacramento State on Saturday morning, falling to the Hornets 7-0.
The Thunderbirds shifted their doubles lineup with freshmen Troy Benson and Bryton Wells teaming to play No. 1 doubles for the first time this season. The duo played their best match of the year despite falling 8-3. Juniors Alex Dial and Spencer Nielsen also paired for the first time at No. 2 doubles and turned in their result of the 2013 campaign, but ended up losing the match 8-3.
In singles, Dial led the T-Birds by winning three games in his match at No. 3, but lost to Sacramento State's Sean Kolar 6-1, 6-2. Benson's match at No. 1 singles was the last to wrap up during the contest as the Brighton HS product fell to the Hornets' Aliaksandr Malko 6-0, 6-2.
The match had strong geographical differences between the two teams as Southern Utah's roster is made up entirely of athletes from the state of Utah. Sacramento State's lineup included athletes from Belarus, Poland, California, India, England and Estonia.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action next week with a conference match at Northern Colorado on Thursday.
Tennis Match Results
Sacramento State vs Southern Utah University
Mar 16, 2013 at Cedar City, Utah
(Thunderbird Tennis Courts)
Sacramento State 7, Southern Utah University 0
Singles competition
1. MALKO, Aliaksandr (CSUS) def. BENSON, Troy (SUU) 6-0, 6-2
2. BRANDYS, Roy (CSUS) def. WELLS, Bryton (SUU) 6-0, 6-1
3. KOLAR, Sean (CSUS) def. DIAL, Alex (SUU) 6-1, 6-2
4. RAM, Niranjan (CSUS) def. NIELSEN, Spencer (SUU) 6-1, 6-0
5. MILLER, Tom (CSUS) def. CHRISTENSEN, Russ (SUU) 6-0, 6-0
6. RAAG, Henrik (CSUS) def. OLCOTT, Branden (SUU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. MARKSOO, Marek/MALKO, Aliaksandr (CSUS) def. BENSON, Troy/WELLS, Bryton (SUU) 8-3
2. BRANDYS, Roy/KOLAR, Sean (CSUS) def. DIAL, Alex/NIELSEN, Spencer (SUU) 8-3
3. RAAG, Henrik/MILLER, Tom (CSUS) def. CHRISTENSEN, Russ/OLCOTT, Branden (SUU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,6,5,3,4,1)
