Saturday, January 18
Omaha, Neb.
2:00 p.m.
Creighton University
7
vs
0
Saint Louis
Photo by: Patrick Davis
Men’s Tennis Opens Season With Sweeps of Saint Louis and Doane
1/18/2025 8:40:00 PM | Men's Tennis
OMAHA, Neb. – The Creighton men's tennis opened the 2025 season in fine fashion, earning a pair of 7-0 sweeps over Saint Louis and Doane on Saturday, January 18 at the Hanscom Tennis Center in Omaha.
The pair of victories propelled the Bluejays to 2-0 on the year for the first time since 2015, while claiming is first season-opening sweep since 2012. Saint Louis fell to 0-1 with their season-opening loss, while Doane dropped to 1-2 overall.
Match 1: Creighton 7, Saint Louis 0
In the first match of the day, Creighton stormed out to a 1-0 lead after capturing victories on all three doubles courts. Senior Ethan Neil and freshman Rocky McKenzie claimed a 6-3 win on the No. 1 court, before juniors Kirtan Patel and Zachary Kuo clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 doubles position. Senior Alejandro Gandini and junior Yuma Daijima also earned a 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot.
In singles, the Jays continued on the same pattern, as Creighton dropped Saint Louis in straight sets at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 positions to clinch the victory. Neil opened up play with a quick 6-2, 6-2 triumph at the No. 6 spot, while Patel captured a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 4 singles position. Kuo then clinched the match moments later with a 6-2, 6-2 victory on the No. 3 court.
Saint Louis would show some fight down the stretch, forcing the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles matches into a decisive third set. Gandini battled back from a one-set deficit at the top singles spot to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory over Andres Castellanos. Daijima snagged an early one-set lead with a 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot, only to see Luca Lo Nardo force a third frame with a 6-4 win in set two. Daijima, however, held on in set three, 10-8, to earn the opening day victory. McKenzie was also forced into a third set, before rolling to a 6-4, 3-6, 10-1 win at the No 5 singles spot to capture the 7-0 sweep.
Match 2: Creighton 7, Doane 0
The second match of the day saw Creighton drop just three total games over doubles and singles on the way to a 7-0 sweep of Doane.
Gandini and Daijima teamed up for a 6-0 win on the No. 1 doubles court, while Patel and Kuo at the No. 2 doubles position and junior Blake Eason and freshman Max Stollecker at the No. 3 doubles position captured identical 6-1 wins to clinch the first point of the match.
In singles play, Gandini (No. 1), Stollecker (No. 3), Kuo (No. 4), Patel (No. 5) and Eason (No. 6) all cruised to 6-0, 6-0 straight set victories, while Daijima captured a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot to clinch the second sweep of the day.
Creighton will return to the courts on Monday afternoon when they travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in the Sin City at 2 p.m. Central Time.
The pair of victories propelled the Bluejays to 2-0 on the year for the first time since 2015, while claiming is first season-opening sweep since 2012. Saint Louis fell to 0-1 with their season-opening loss, while Doane dropped to 1-2 overall.
Match 1: Creighton 7, Saint Louis 0
In the first match of the day, Creighton stormed out to a 1-0 lead after capturing victories on all three doubles courts. Senior Ethan Neil and freshman Rocky McKenzie claimed a 6-3 win on the No. 1 court, before juniors Kirtan Patel and Zachary Kuo clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 doubles position. Senior Alejandro Gandini and junior Yuma Daijima also earned a 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot.
In singles, the Jays continued on the same pattern, as Creighton dropped Saint Louis in straight sets at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 positions to clinch the victory. Neil opened up play with a quick 6-2, 6-2 triumph at the No. 6 spot, while Patel captured a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 4 singles position. Kuo then clinched the match moments later with a 6-2, 6-2 victory on the No. 3 court.
Saint Louis would show some fight down the stretch, forcing the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles matches into a decisive third set. Gandini battled back from a one-set deficit at the top singles spot to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory over Andres Castellanos. Daijima snagged an early one-set lead with a 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot, only to see Luca Lo Nardo force a third frame with a 6-4 win in set two. Daijima, however, held on in set three, 10-8, to earn the opening day victory. McKenzie was also forced into a third set, before rolling to a 6-4, 3-6, 10-1 win at the No 5 singles spot to capture the 7-0 sweep.
Match 2: Creighton 7, Doane 0
The second match of the day saw Creighton drop just three total games over doubles and singles on the way to a 7-0 sweep of Doane.
Gandini and Daijima teamed up for a 6-0 win on the No. 1 doubles court, while Patel and Kuo at the No. 2 doubles position and junior Blake Eason and freshman Max Stollecker at the No. 3 doubles position captured identical 6-1 wins to clinch the first point of the match.
In singles play, Gandini (No. 1), Stollecker (No. 3), Kuo (No. 4), Patel (No. 5) and Eason (No. 6) all cruised to 6-0, 6-0 straight set victories, while Daijima captured a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot to clinch the second sweep of the day.
Creighton will return to the courts on Monday afternoon when they travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in the Sin City at 2 p.m. Central Time.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Andres Castellanos / 0 [SLU]
630
361
#2 Singles Match
123
Luca Lo Nardo / 0 [SLU]
360
641
#3 Singles Match
12
Valentin Vasquez / 0 [SLU]
22
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Riki Koshimizu / 0 [SLU]
11
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Max Chen / 0 [SLU]
460
631
#6 Singles Match
12
Sebastian Munoz / 0 [SLU]
22
66
Order of Finish:
6,4,3,5,1,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ 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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