Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University men's tennis team opened up the 2020 spring season with two solid wins last weekend over Mount St. Mary's and Carnegie Mellon at the Alpha Tennis and Fitness of Pittsburgh.
 
On Saturday the Dukes downed the Mountaineers by a score of 6-1 and dominated the Tartans on Sunday by a mark of 7-0.
  In doubles play, Alex Mascioli and Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal dominated with a 6-0 win at #1 doubles. Senior captains, Jared Isaacs and Dominic Lea were soon to follow with a 6-1 win at #3 doubles to clinch the doubles point. The Mount's #2 doubles team was too steady for our pair of Joey Matthews and Jin Dassanayake, The duo lost 6-1.
 
"The doubles point can set the tone of the whole match and this one was extremely important to us being the first point of a new season," said Duquesne Director of Tennis Vanessa Steiner.  We are still working on our doubles pairings as we have had some recent roster changes, but the upperclassmen stepped up in doubles play and never let their opponents get into the match."
 
In singles play the Dukes were victorious in 5 out of the 6 singles matches and to earn the 6-1 win. Four of the six singles matches went to three sets with Duquesne winning all of the third sets.
 
"We have to give credit to an impressive opponent - their team, both on and off of the court, was so fired up and supportive of one another, while staying respectful to our own team. It was a day of quality tennis all around."
 
Alejandro was the first to finish his match at #2 singles, winning 7-6, 6-2 and helping the Dukes take an overall 2-0 lead. Both Mascioli (#1) and Isaacs (#3) were forced to a third set. Isaacs controlled the majority of the match, but Parth Sharma of Mount St. Mary's made a comeback in the second set and won the tiebreak 7-5 to force the match to a third set. Isaacs kept his composure and wore his opponent down to take the third set 6-3 and to extend the Dukes advantage to 3-0.
 
The Mount got their lone point at #4 singles, beating freshman Jin Dassanayake in straight sets.
 
At #1 singles, Mascioli convincingly took the second set 6-1 against a tough lefty opponent. After a grueling battle, he closed out the match 7-5 in the third set and clinched the win for the Dukes.
 
To round out the singles play both Dominic Lea and Graham Conron took wins in three sets at #5 and #6 singles. Since the match was already decided, both third sets were 10 point tiebreakers. Both players used the energy from the entire team to stay focused and positive in those third sets.
 
"We are proud of every single player today, it was a full team victory," continued Steiner. One of the highlights was also seeing Dominic Lea back on the court competing. He had been out for over a year with an injury and to see him battling so hard and getting the win today really made us proud."  On Sunday, the Dukes battled Steel City foe Carnegie Mellon.  The Dukes started off quickly, securing the doubles point at #1 and #3 doubles for the second consecutive match. Mascioli and Rodriguez-Vidal won 6-0 again at #1 doubles. The pair didn't drop a single game the whole weekend.
 
The Dukes kept the momentum going, winning all six singles points to earn the 7-0 win. #1-3 singles were the first out to court. Senior Jared Isaacs made quick work of his opponent at #3 singles winning 6-3, 6-0.
 
At #1 and #2 singles, Alex and Alejandro both won in straight sets but their matches were filled with momentum swings.
 
"This was a good test mental test for the top of our lineup and I think it showed that even though we came out victorious," said Duquesne Associate Head Coach Hunter Callahan. We still have some work to do."
 
 At #4 singles, Jin Dassanayake led 6-4, 5-1 about to close it out but CMU continued to fight and came back to win the second set 7-6. Dassanayake gathered his emotions and won the third set 10-5.
 
"As a freshman, it is always a good feeling to secure your first win in the dual season," continued Callahan. "Jin was battling through some nerves over the weekend but he found a way to win and his competitive spirit is going to continue to help get our program to the next level."
 
At #5 singles, Dominic Lea won 6-4, 6-4 against the hard-hitting Pinckney. Dom used his opponents pace to gain control of the points and allowing his opponent to break down.
 
Arnas Sabonis, the newest addition to the Dukes roster rounded out the singles with a 7-5, 6-4 win at #6 singles.
 
This was the first of two matchups between the Dukes and Tartans this season. Both squads will meet outside at CMU in the regular season finale on April 19.
 
The Dukes are back in action this weekend, when Duquesne hits the road to battle A-10 foes VCU on Friday and George Washington on Saturday.