
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Tennis Downed By UMKC During Home-Opener, 4-3
2/9/2018 5:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Creighton earned the doubles point but managed only two singles victories
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's tennis team opened its 2018 home schedule with a 4-3 loss against UMKC on Friday afternoon at the Hanscom Tennis Center.
The Bluejays are now 1-4 overall this season.
Creighton earned the opening point of the day with two hard-fought doubles victories.
Brooks Kendall and Armando Gandini won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles moments before Mac Mease and Daniel Lopez-Rey won by a similar score at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point. In the top doubles match, Alex Koca and Stratton Brown nearly gave the Bluejays an opening sweep but fell 8-6 during a tiebreaker.
Three singles matches went the distance, with UMKC earning wins during each of the three-set contests.
At No. 2, Stratton Brown lost 6-4 during the opening set but won 6-3 during the second. UMKC's No. 2 ended Brown's comeback hopes with a 6-2 win in the deciding frame.
Brooks Kendall opened the No. 1 singles match with a 6-3 victory in the first set before falling 6-2, 6-4 during the final two.
At No. 4, Alex Koca fell into an early hole after a 6-2 loss in the opening frame, but won 9-7 during a second-set tiebreaker to force a third set. The Kangaroos' No. 4 athlete cruised to a 6-1 deciding set victory for UMKC's fourth singles win to clinch the overall dual.
A straight-sets victory at No. 3 singles gave the Roos their first win of the afternoon.
Creighton's Daniel Lopez-Rey and Jose Oscar Diaz each earned straight-sets victories to close out the afternoon.
"This was a great college tennis match," head coach Tom Lilly said. "It was unfortunate that we came up a bit short in a few singles matches, but the credit goes to UMKC for stepping up and playing really well when they needed to."
The Bluejays are back in action at the Hanscom Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon against North Dakota.
UMKC 4, Creighton 3
Feb 09, 2018 at Omaha, Neb. (Hanscom Tennis Center)
The Bluejays are now 1-4 overall this season.
Creighton earned the opening point of the day with two hard-fought doubles victories.
Brooks Kendall and Armando Gandini won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles moments before Mac Mease and Daniel Lopez-Rey won by a similar score at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point. In the top doubles match, Alex Koca and Stratton Brown nearly gave the Bluejays an opening sweep but fell 8-6 during a tiebreaker.
Three singles matches went the distance, with UMKC earning wins during each of the three-set contests.
At No. 2, Stratton Brown lost 6-4 during the opening set but won 6-3 during the second. UMKC's No. 2 ended Brown's comeback hopes with a 6-2 win in the deciding frame.
Brooks Kendall opened the No. 1 singles match with a 6-3 victory in the first set before falling 6-2, 6-4 during the final two.
At No. 4, Alex Koca fell into an early hole after a 6-2 loss in the opening frame, but won 9-7 during a second-set tiebreaker to force a third set. The Kangaroos' No. 4 athlete cruised to a 6-1 deciding set victory for UMKC's fourth singles win to clinch the overall dual.
A straight-sets victory at No. 3 singles gave the Roos their first win of the afternoon.
Creighton's Daniel Lopez-Rey and Jose Oscar Diaz each earned straight-sets victories to close out the afternoon.
"This was a great college tennis match," head coach Tom Lilly said. "It was unfortunate that we came up a bit short in a few singles matches, but the credit goes to UMKC for stepping up and playing really well when they needed to."
The Bluejays are back in action at the Hanscom Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon against North Dakota.
UMKC 4, Creighton 3
Feb 09, 2018 at Omaha, Neb. (Hanscom Tennis Center)
Singles competition |
1. Airam Castellano (UMKC) def. Brooks Kendall (CU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
2. Alex Pozo (UMKC) def. Stratton Brown (CU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 |
3. Tom Kruse (UMKC) def. Armando Gandini (CU) 6-1, 6-4 |
4. Diego Giraldo (UMKC) def. Alex Koca (CU) 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1 |
5. Daniel Lopez-Rey (CU) def. Daniel Izadifar (UMKC) 7-5, 6-1 |
6. Jose Oscar Diaz (CU) def. Hunter Clark (UMKC) 6-1, 6-1 |
Doubles competition |
1. Airam Castellano/Alex Pozo (UMKC) def. Alex Koca/Stratton Brown (CU) 7-6 (8-6) |
2. Mac Mease/Daniel Lopez-Rey (CU) def. Diego Giraldo/Tom Kruse (UMKC) 6-4 |
3. Brooks Kendall/Armando Gandini (CU) def. Hunter Clark/Daniel Izadifar (UMKC) 6-4 |
Match Notes |
UMKC 2-3 |
Creighton 1-4 |
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6) |
Players Mentioned
Creighton Men's Tennis Final Point and Celebration vs. Xavier, 4/19/25
Saturday, April 19
Creighton Men's Tennis Postgame vs. North Dakota, 3/30/25
Sunday, March 30
Creighton Women's Tennis Postgame vs. North Dakota, 3/29/25
Sunday, March 30
Crieghton Men's Tennis Postmatch vs. Butler, 2/16/25
Sunday, February 16