LEBANON, N.J. – The TCNJ men's tennis team found a way to reverse its recent bad luck, outlasting RIT in a 4-3 showdown on Saturday night at Courtside Racquet Club.
Sidd Arudi had the clinching point for the Lions, who had dropped 4-3 decisions in consecutive weekends before flipping the script the third time around.
The Lions (4-2) got off to a quick start by clinching the doubles point.
Tomas Velez and Arudi posted a 6-2 victory over Nikko Tuxford and Anthony Lounder in the third flight, and
Nathan Chan and
Alberto Thomas held off Evan Ly and Alec Turcotte, 6-4, at number two.
That victory proved the difference as
Harrison Maitland-Carter and
Asa Wong conceded a hard-fought 7-5 decision to Yu Tanimoto and Alexander Sinclair on the top court.
Tanimoto pulled the Tigers even with a straight-sets win at No. 1 singles, and the teams stayed level after trading third-set super breaker thrillers on the second and third courts.
Maitland-Carter won his in comeback fashion, rallying from a big first-set loss to edge Evan Ly 1-6, 7-6 (2), 10-7 at No. 2 singles.
The Lions closed it out with their depth, starting with
Faris Shehata's 6-1, 6-3 victory against Sinclair in the fourth flight to give the blue and gold a 3-2 lead.
The Tigers briefly regained level ground as Gabriel Escobar outlasted
Brett Schuster in a 12-10 marathon super breaker at number five, but Arudi was waiting in the wings to clinch with a 6-2, 7-6 (2) triumph at number six.
NOTES
- Thomas' doubles win was the 98th career victory for the senior, who can join the century club in the Lions' next match
- Maitland-Carter won his 50th career singles match, making him the 16th player in program history to reach that milestone
- The Lions knocked off RIT for the fourth straight season, and it was a 4-3 nail-biter for the second year in a row
- TCNJ's last three matches have ended 4-3
UP NEXT
- TCNJ welcomes Ursinus to the Tennis Complex on Wednesday, March 11
