LEXINGTON, Va. – The 27th-ranked Washington and Lee men's tennis team dropped its first match of the season on Sunday morning, falling by a 7-0 final score against top-ranked UChicago.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Maroons (10-1) claimed all three doubles matches to open the match, but first-year
Ryan Good and senior
James Kurani made Derek Hsieh and Jacob Lowen work for the doubles sweep in a 7-6 (6) final at No. 2. Chicago dropped just seven games total between doubles 1 and 3.
Chicago continued its roll through singles play, with five of the six matches being decided in straight sets. Senior
Will Kistler was the lone General to take a set off a Maroon, as he won the second set against Hsieh at No. 2 to force a 10-point breaker in the third. Hsieh fought Kistler off, however, in the tiebreak, 10-8.
Sophomore
Heys Parker played at No. 4 on Sunday and battled against 24th-ranked Michael Choi. Parker won a total of seven games in his match, including a 7-5 loss in the second set, for the second-most total singles games won among Generals (Kistler – 11).
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
In addition to facing their toughest opponent of the season to date in a Maroons team whose only loss came against No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the ITA Indoor National Championship last weekend, W&L faced three more ranked individuals in singles play. Parker drew the highest-rated Chicago player in Choi at No. 24, while senior
Eli Hirshberg faced off against No. 32 Alexander Ekstrand at No. 3, with Kurani getting No. 46 Emil Grantcharov at No. 1.
UP NEXT:
The Generals, who now sit at 6-1 overall and 3-0 in ODAC play, will return next Saturday at Guilford for a 1:00 p.m. start in their first conference dual match of the spring.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
