ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 8 seeded Duquesne University men's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking, 4-3 decision to No. 9 Saint Joseph's in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championships on Thursday at the USTA National Campus.
The Dukes got started with victories in the top-two doubles flights to earn the first point of the match.
Kaipo Marshall/
Jin Dassanayake rolled to a 6-3 win in the #2 spot, then
David Georgadze/
Tamirlan Teberikov secured the point battling to a 7-6 tie-break victory in the #1 spot.
Saint Joseph's was quick to answer with singles wins at #3, #4, and #5 in straight sets to take the lead. Georgadze took care of business in the second flight (6-4, 6-0) to get the Dukes on the board in singles action, then
Keita Duclos finished off a 6-3, 6-2 sweep in the sixth position to tie things up and turn all the attention to the #1 singles match.
As singles #2 through #6 finished up, Alejandro Vedi (SJU) and Marshall (DUQ) were in the heat of battle tied up at one set apiece. Marshall won the first set 6-4, but ultimately came up short dropping back-to-back 6-2 and 6-4 decisions. Marshall was a point away from making the tie-break set 5-5, however a forehand long followed by a forehand into the net quickly flipped the scoreboard and put Vedi in front for good.
Duquesne finishes the season with an 8-8 overall record.
Doubles Results
1.
David Georgadze/
Tamirlan Teberikov (DUQ) def. Inigo Diaz/Alejandro Vedri (SJU) 7-6
2.
Jin Dassanayake/
Kaipo Marshall (DUQ) def. John Butler/Serra Oscar (SJU) 6-3
3.
Liam Wickwire/
Bode Vance (DUQ) vs. Justus Agbo/Nassim Fenjiro (SJU) 6-6, UF
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles Results
1. Alejandro Vedri (SJU) def.
Kaipo Marshall (DUQ) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
2.
David Georgadze (DUQ) def. Justus Agbo (SJU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Inigo Diaz (SJU) def.
Tamirlan Teberikov (DUQ) 6-1, 6-3
4. Nassim Fenjiro (SJU) def.
Jin Dassanayake (DUQ) 6-2, 6-2
5. Oscar Serra (SJU) def.
Valentin Vasquez (DUQ) 6-2, 6-3
6.
Keita Duclos (DUQ) def. Eli Gan-Dy (SJU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 1
