Friday, February 10
Omaha, Neb.
12:30 P.M.
Creighton University
4
vs
3
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
Men’s Tennis Rallies Late For 4-3 Victory Over Northern Illinois in Home Opener
2/10/2023 4:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Bluejays rally with victories in final three singles matches
OMAHA, Neb. – The Creighton men's tennis rallied late in singles play to capture a 4-3 victory in the home opener against Northern Illinois at the Hanscom Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
The Bluejays improved to 2-3 on the year with the win, while the Huskies fell to 4-2 overall. The win marks the Bluejays first win over Northern Illinois in five meetings.
"What a fantastic college tennis match," said head coach Tom Lilly. "We beat a very good team today that is well coached. Coming from behind and needing to win all three matches at the end was very clutch for our guys. Not to mention they were three guys in their first year of college tennis. I liked our fight, and we will need a lot of that tomorrow against the two-time defending BIG EAST champions."
Down 3-1 midway through singles play, the Bluejays rallied with win at the No. 4, No.5 and No. 6 singles positions to complete the comeback.
Freshman Zachary Kuo got the rally started with a 6-4, 7-5 straight-sets win at the No. 6 singles slot, while classmate Kirtan Patel claimed a three-set triumph at the No. 5 singles spot. Patel cruised to a 6-2 victory in the opening set but fell 6-2 in the second, forcing a decisive third set. In set three, Patel overcame a 3-2 deficit with four game winners to defeat Armin Koschtojan, 6-3.
With the match tied at 3-3, the Bluejays looked to sophomore Alejandro Gandini to close things out. The Dominican Republic native picked up a 7-5 victory in set one, before suffering a 6-3 setback in set two. In the decisive third set, Gandini used a trio of game winners to secure a 6-3 win and clinch the match for the Bluejays.
Northern Illinois snagged an early lead in the match with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 doubles and a 6-3 victory at the No. 3 doubles positions.
The Bluejays evened the match early in singles play, as junior Matthew Lanahan captured a 6-4, 6-2 win over Northern Illinois' Cheng En Tsai at the No. 1 singles slot. The Huskies would extend their lead to 3-1 with a pair of victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles before Creighton began its comeback.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. when it plays host to DePaul in the BIG EAST opener at the Hanscom Tennis Center.
Creighton 4, Northern Illinois 3
Feb 10, 2023 at Omaha, Neb. (Hanscom Tennis Center)
The Bluejays improved to 2-3 on the year with the win, while the Huskies fell to 4-2 overall. The win marks the Bluejays first win over Northern Illinois in five meetings.
"What a fantastic college tennis match," said head coach Tom Lilly. "We beat a very good team today that is well coached. Coming from behind and needing to win all three matches at the end was very clutch for our guys. Not to mention they were three guys in their first year of college tennis. I liked our fight, and we will need a lot of that tomorrow against the two-time defending BIG EAST champions."
Down 3-1 midway through singles play, the Bluejays rallied with win at the No. 4, No.5 and No. 6 singles positions to complete the comeback.
Freshman Zachary Kuo got the rally started with a 6-4, 7-5 straight-sets win at the No. 6 singles slot, while classmate Kirtan Patel claimed a three-set triumph at the No. 5 singles spot. Patel cruised to a 6-2 victory in the opening set but fell 6-2 in the second, forcing a decisive third set. In set three, Patel overcame a 3-2 deficit with four game winners to defeat Armin Koschtojan, 6-3.
With the match tied at 3-3, the Bluejays looked to sophomore Alejandro Gandini to close things out. The Dominican Republic native picked up a 7-5 victory in set one, before suffering a 6-3 setback in set two. In the decisive third set, Gandini used a trio of game winners to secure a 6-3 win and clinch the match for the Bluejays.
Northern Illinois snagged an early lead in the match with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 doubles and a 6-3 victory at the No. 3 doubles positions.
The Bluejays evened the match early in singles play, as junior Matthew Lanahan captured a 6-4, 6-2 win over Northern Illinois' Cheng En Tsai at the No. 1 singles slot. The Huskies would extend their lead to 3-1 with a pair of victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles before Creighton began its comeback.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. when it plays host to DePaul in the BIG EAST opener at the Hanscom Tennis Center.
Creighton 4, Northern Illinois 3
Feb 10, 2023 at Omaha, Neb. (Hanscom Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Matthew Lanahan (CU) def. Cheng En Tsai (NIU) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 2. Oliver Valentinsson (NIU) def. Oscar Alvarez (CU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 |
| 3. Mikael Vollbach (NIU) def. Shin Inoue (CU) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 4. Alejandro Gandini (CU) def. Gaztambide Arrastia (NIU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 5. Kirtan Patel (CU) def. Armin Koschtojan (NIU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 |
| 6. Zachary Kuo (CU) def. Christopher Norlin (NIU) 6-4, 7-5 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Mikael Vollbach/Cheng En Tsai (NIU) def. Alejandro Gandini/Matthew Lanahan (CU) 6-4 |
| 2. Shin Inoue/Oscar Alvarez (CU) vs. Christopher Knutson/Armin Koschtojan (NIU) 3-5, unfinished |
| 3. Christopher Norlin/Guy Dagan (NIU) def. Zack Maline/Zachary Kuo (CU) 6-3 |
| Match Notes |
| Northern Illinois 4-2 |
| Creighton 2-3 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,2,6,5,4) |
| T-2:31 |
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Cheng En Tsai / 0 [NIU]
42
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Oliver Valentinsson / 0 [NIU]
636
161
#3 Singles Match
12
Mikael Vollbach / 0 [NIU]
66
44
#4 Singles Match
123
Gaztambide Arrastia / 0 [NIU]
563
736
#5 Singles Match
123
Armin Koschtojan / 0 [NIU]
263
626
#6 Singles Match
12
Christopher Norlin / 0 [NIU]
45
67
Order of Finish:
1,3,2,6,5,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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