Virginia Wesleyan University men's tennis dropped a 6-1 decision to Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon.
The Stevens took an early 1-0 lead by sweeping all three doubles contests. At the top spot,
Jed Platts and
Sebastien Muller battled but fell 6-2, while the No. 2 tandem of
Ayaan Choudhary and
Simon Öster came up short in a 6-4 decision. Stevens rounded out doubles play with a 6-4 win at No. 3 against
Hovo Madanyan and
Tudor Vlad.
In singles play, Virginia Wesleyan continued to compete throughout the lineup, including several tightly contested matches. Choudhary opened singles action at No. 1 but was defeated in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Platts followed at No. 2 and also fell in two sets, 6-2, 6-4.
The closest battles of the day came in the middle of the lineup. At No. 3, Vlad pushed his match to a third-set super tiebreak after splitting the first two sets, but Stevens' Renat Kramin ultimately prevailed. Muller also forced a super tiebreak at No. 4 after trading sets, though Stevens edged out the deciding breaker to secure the point. At No. 5, Öster competed well before dropping a 7-5, 6-3 decision.
Virginia Wesleyan earned its lone point of the match at No. 6 singles, where
Josh Buckland responded after losing the opening set to win the final two, 6-2, 6-2, closing the day with a hard-fought three-set victory.
