Friday, April 19
Cayce, S.C
3:30 P.M.
Creighton University
1
vs
4
#5 Butler
Photo by: Travis Bell, Sideline Carolina Photography
Men’s Tennis Concludes Season With 4-1 Setback During BIG EAST Quarterfinals Against Butler
4/19/2024 6:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis
CAYCE, S.C. – The Creighton men's tennis team had their season come to an end on Friday afternoon following a 4-1 loss to fifth-seeded Butler during the 2024 BIG EAST Tennis Championship quarterfinal round at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness center.
The Bluejays ended the 2024 season with a 13-9 overall record, while the Bulldogs improved to 10-16 on the year, advancing to a semifinals match against top-seeded St. John's on Saturday.
Junior Alejandro Gandini and sophomore Yuma Daijima collected their team-leading 11th doubles win of the season, combining for a 7-5 victory on the No. 3 doubles court, but Butler would take the first point of the match courtesy of victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions.
Creighton would level the match at 1-1 in singles play as Gandini cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 straight-sets victory over Nicolas Arts on the No. 4 singles court.
Butler, however, responded with straight-set wins of their own at the No. 1 and No. 3 singles spots to regain a 3-1 lead in the match. Alvaro Huete claimed a 6-4, 6-2 win over senior Matthew Lanahan at the top singles slot, while Patrick Joss pushed the Bulldogs to the brink of victory with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kirtan Patel on the No. 3 singles court.
With Butler leading 3-1, Creighton needed wins at the three remaining singles positions to complete a comeback. Those hopes slowly faded as Butler's Aidan William's ended the match with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) straight-sets triumph over senior Shin Inoue on the No. 6 singles court to clinch the overall dual.
"Facing Butler in the first round was the toughest draw we could get," said head coach Gerhard Posch. "I thought we fought really hard and had we played out all the singles matches, it would have been another 4-3 decision. Unfortunately, we have a tough time performing well in the tournament. It's something we need to get better at. I thought that over the course of the season, we definitely improved in some positions and made some good progress. The players were obviously very disappointed after the match, but I told them there are still a lot of aspects to be really proud of this year. That big upset win or conference championship we'll have to wait for to happen another year."
Friday's match marked the final collegiate match for Bluejays; Matthew Lanahan, Shin Inoue and Zack Maline. The trio had combined for 204 total wins over four years with the Bluejays. Lanahan recording 98 total victories while Inoue compiled 74 total wins and Maline tallied 32 overall.
The Bluejays ended the 2024 season with a 13-9 overall record, while the Bulldogs improved to 10-16 on the year, advancing to a semifinals match against top-seeded St. John's on Saturday.
Junior Alejandro Gandini and sophomore Yuma Daijima collected their team-leading 11th doubles win of the season, combining for a 7-5 victory on the No. 3 doubles court, but Butler would take the first point of the match courtesy of victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions.
Creighton would level the match at 1-1 in singles play as Gandini cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 straight-sets victory over Nicolas Arts on the No. 4 singles court.
Butler, however, responded with straight-set wins of their own at the No. 1 and No. 3 singles spots to regain a 3-1 lead in the match. Alvaro Huete claimed a 6-4, 6-2 win over senior Matthew Lanahan at the top singles slot, while Patrick Joss pushed the Bulldogs to the brink of victory with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kirtan Patel on the No. 3 singles court.
With Butler leading 3-1, Creighton needed wins at the three remaining singles positions to complete a comeback. Those hopes slowly faded as Butler's Aidan William's ended the match with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) straight-sets triumph over senior Shin Inoue on the No. 6 singles court to clinch the overall dual.
"Facing Butler in the first round was the toughest draw we could get," said head coach Gerhard Posch. "I thought we fought really hard and had we played out all the singles matches, it would have been another 4-3 decision. Unfortunately, we have a tough time performing well in the tournament. It's something we need to get better at. I thought that over the course of the season, we definitely improved in some positions and made some good progress. The players were obviously very disappointed after the match, but I told them there are still a lot of aspects to be really proud of this year. That big upset win or conference championship we'll have to wait for to happen another year."
Friday's match marked the final collegiate match for Bluejays; Matthew Lanahan, Shin Inoue and Zack Maline. The trio had combined for 204 total wins over four years with the Bluejays. Lanahan recording 98 total victories while Inoue compiled 74 total wins and Maline tallied 32 overall.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Alvaro Huete Vadillo / 0 [BU]
66
42
#2 Singles Match
1234
Borja Miralles / 0 [BU]
6320
363UF
#3 Singles Match
12
Patrick Joss / 0 [BU]
66
42
#4 Singles Match
12
Nicolas Arts / 0 [BU]
22
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Rahul Konakanchi / 0 [BU]
620
74UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Aidan William / 0 [BU]
67
36
Order of Finish:
4,3,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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
