Marlins Battle to Finish in Saturday Loss
SALISBURY, Md. -- Saturday saw the Virginia Wesleyan College men's tennis team fall for the second time in as many days after an 8-1 defeat at Salisbury University.
Despite the seemingly lopsided scoreline, the match proved extremely competitive and tightly contested, with Salisbury emerging in front in critical moments throughout the afternoon.
Doubles saw several opportunities for the Marlins to get on the scoreboard, including chances for a lead going into the singles portion of the dual match.
Freshman Joe Holloway made his season debut at the second doubles position alongside partner Paul Gladstone, and the duo found themselves on the wrong side of an 8-6 match.
At the first doubles slot, freshman Nick Gunther and senior Brendan Kelleher played an extremely high quality match but were unable to find an elusive break of serve of the team from Salisbury, ultimately falling in a tiebreak 9-8 (7-4).
"The guys fought really well in tight situations in doubles, head coach Marty Perry said. "We definitely put ourselves in positions to be successful through scrappy play."
The singles portion of the match saw more tenacious efforts and grit from the Marlins. Four of the six singles match-ups saw the match go the distance to a full third set.
Gladstone overcame dropping the first set to claw his way back into the match, emerging for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory at the first position. Fellow Marlins Andreas Combos, Nick Gunther, and junior Jake Morgan all lost in third sets at third, fourth, and sixth singles respectively, with Combos and Morgan even holding match points in their decisive sets.
"I was really impressed with the heart we showed today," assistant coach Christian Nagy added. "Top to bottom, we did a lot of good things and we certainly had chances today, but credit to Salisbury for playing crucial moments really well today."
The Marlins (0-2) cap off a whirlwind of an opening weekend when they return to Maryland on Sunday for their third match in roughly 48 hours against Goucher College (3-1). First serve is slated for 1 p.m.
