UPIKE men’s tennis rolls over UVa.-Wise
0By Dmitry Babenkov
The 22nd-ranked University of Pikeville men’s tennis team dominated against U.Va.-Wise on Thursday, March 27. The Bears didn’t give NCAA Div. II U.Va.-Wise a fighting chance; with the score of 9-0, the tennis team improved its winning streak to eight straight wins.
The UPIKE tennis team started off taking all three doubles without breaking a sweat. No. 1 Sven Rodenbusch and Dmitry Babenkov rolled over their challengers 8-0. The same score was achieved by the No. 3 seed Connor Smith and Francois Billet. The second doubles of Pawel Tarasewicz and Marcos Fondelius won their match 8-2 with a slight struggle.
“Winning all three doubles gave the team a comfortable lead heading into singles. Everyone played some amazing tennis, no chances was given to the UVa.-Wise team. The goal heading into singles was to achieve 9-0 win and the bears did exactly that! I’m proud of my team performance today!” Coach Tim Aldermen said.
The UPIKE tennis team didn’t hold anything back in singles. The 4th win came from Rodenbusch when he topped his opponent 6-1, 6-1. Babenkov brought UPIKE the winning match, with score 6-1, 6-2.
The rest of the matches were one sided except for the top seed, Billet. After losing the first set 6-4, Billet regrouped and battled back for a 6-4 win in the second set. The 10-point tiebreak decided the match, which Billet won 10-7.
The UPIKE Bears showed a strong performance on Thursday. With their confidence the tennis team is ready to face their next opponent, Lindsey Wilson.