BALTIMORE, Md. (April 16, 2024) — In a challenging encounter at Lake Clifton Tennis Courts, Morgan State men's tennis team faced a formidable non-conference opponent in St. Joseph's University.
Despite their efforts, the Bears succumbed to a 6-1 defeat, dropping their overall record to 7-11. St. Joseph's, on the other hand, emerged victorious, improving their record to 7-15.
The match commenced with a series of intense doubles contests. Morgan's duo of Tezas Parmr and Kondwani Patterson engaged in a hard-fought battle against St. Joseph's pairing of Eli Gan-Dy and John Butler. Despite their best efforts, Parmr and Patterson were unable to secure the win, falling 6-4. The Hawks took the doubles match, with Justus Agbo and Stergios Achilleas overpowering Morgan's duo of Niles Rachal and Rhajzon Rankins 6-4. Morgan's No. 1 doubles team of Mikeal Carpenter and Bertin Karenzi defeated the Hawks' Ernesto Ruy and Othman Bezzaz 6-4.
Moving into singles play, Othman Bezzaz gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead as a result of defeating Rhajzon Rankins, 6-2, 6-0, on court 3. Morgan's lone point came from Mikeal Carpenter, who put the Bears on the scoreboard by securing a 6-1, 6-4 win against Justus Agbo on court 1.
The Hawks would go on to win the remaining four matches. Bertin Karenzi put forth a valiant effort against Jack Campbell on court 5. The match went into a tiebreaker, but ultimately Karenzi fell short, losing 6-2, 3-6, 4-6. The Hawks continued their dominance, with Eli Gan-Dy defeating Tezas Parmr, 6-1, 6-3, to secure the match victory.
The Hawks sealed the day with wins on court 2 and 4, with Ernesto Ruy defeating Niles Rachal 6-7, 6-2, 4-6 and Stergios Achilleas defeating Kondwani Patterson 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, respectively.
Morgan will return to action on Saturday, April 20, when they travel to the Nation's Capital to face the Howard Bison in the regular season finale.
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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
