HOCKESSIN, Del. -- The Morgan State men's tennis team saw its five-match winning streak snapped on Saturday with a road loss to Hofstra at the Hockessin Athletic Club in Hockessin, Delaware.
Despite the loss, the Bears returned to the win column today (Sunday) due to a forfeit by Maryland Eastern Shore. Morgan State are now 9-10 overall this year and are 3-0 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Hofstra match marked the team's final non-conference outing as the remaining two contests during the regular season will come against MEAC opposition.
Hofstra, won its second straight while improving to 10-4, and it was Niko Vulinovich's 7-6 (6), 7-5 win over
Treajh Ferguson that clinched a 4-1 victory against the Bears.
Vulinovich and Gustav Akesson picked up a 6-0 win at first doubles and were followed by Marcus Smith and Yahn Gawrit defeating
Evan Ward and Ferguson at second doubles by a score of 6-4. That gave Hofstra a 1-0 lead in the match. The Be
ars' Jeremy Field and Arjun Ramakrishnan picked up a 6-3 win at third doubles over Leonardo Pires and Zachary Chang.
Ward tied the match at one with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Akesson at fourth singles. But the Pride rolled off three consecutive victories to clinch the match. Smith dropped the first set to Fields, 1-6, before storming back to win the next two 6-2 and 6-3 at the top flight. Gawrit won 6-2, 7-5 over Andre at the third flight before Vulinovich came through with the match clinching win.
Morgan State returns to action next Saturday, April 16, with a road match against Norfolk State. Match time is 3 p.m. The Bears will travel to Hampton for MEAC regular season finale on Sunday, April 17.
QUOTING HEAD COACH MATT TOWNES
"Tonight's loss is humbling, but I saw it coming. We are a deeper team than Hofstra, but once again, we lost the doubles point, and that decided the match. It's been our Achilles heel all season and its about time we stepped up to the plate and get it done. We must play with a sense of urgency, high level of awareness, and our young talent must play like seasoned vets. We are a very capable team, and this may be exactly what we needed to wake us up."
Hofstra University 4, Morgan State 1
Apr 09, 2016 at Hockessin, DE (Hockessin Indoor)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Marcus Smith (HOFSTRA) def. Jeremy Field (MORGANST) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 2. Niko Vulinovich (HOFSTRA) def. Treajh Ferguson (MORGANST) 7-6 (10-6), 7-5 |
| 3. Yahn Gawrit (HOFSTRA) def. Felix Andre (MORGANST) 6-2, 7-5 |
| 4. Evan Ward (MORGANST) def. Gustav Akesson (HOFSTRA) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 5. Arjun Ramakrishnan (MORGANST) vs. Zachary Chang (HOFSTRA) 6-1, unfinished |
| 6. Lucas Krusinski (MORGANST) vs. Leonardo Pires (HOFSTRA) unfinished |
