NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Omaha men's tennis team split matches on Tuesday with Loyola-New Orleans and Nicholls State. The Mavs opened the day with a 5-1 win over Loyola-New Orleans and finished the afternoon with a 4-0 loss to Nicholls State.
Omaha is now 6-11 overall and 0-1 in Summit League play. The Mavericks return to the courts Wednesday against the University of New Orleans at 2 p.m.
Match One
Omaha 5, Loyola-New Orleans 1
The Mavericks went into singles action with a 3-0 lead after sweeping doubles play. Erik Anderson and Marko Minic opened the day with an 8-4 win at No. 3 win against Federico Mercado and Ricardo Mercado. The tandem of Matt Dunn and John Ellis continued the Mavericks roll with an 8-6 win at No. 2. Colin Buckley and Ignace Warson topped Steven Le and Ernesto de Diego at No. 1, 8-5.
"We got off to a much better start in doubles this morning," commented head coach Tyson Thomas. "Sweeping all three matches gave us a little breathing room against a competitive Loyola team."
The Wolfpack got on the board with a win at No. 6 singles as Chris George Fourmaux topped Omaha's Sean Padios, 6-3, 7-5. UNO clinched the match with wins at No. 3 and No. 4. Anderson needed split sets to defeat de Diego at No. 4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-0. Minic clinched the match for Omaha with a split set win at No. 3. He dropped the first set 6-2, but won the next two sets 6-1, 6-1. The matches at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 5 went unfinished.
"I'm proud of Mark and Erik for coming back so well after dropping their first sets," said Thomas. "I'm continuing to see growth in this team."
Match Two
Nicholls State 4, Omaha 0
Omaha fell behind Nicholls State early and could not catch up as the Mavericks fell 4-0.
"The quick turnaround against a really good Nicholls State team proved to be a bit too much," added Thomas. "They jumped on us in doubles right away. I was proud of the way we fought back, but giving a team like this a lead is tough to come back from."
In doubles, Nicholls State won matches at No. 2 and No. 3 to clinch the point. Erik Anderson and Alex Woodward fell at No. 2, 6-2. Matt Dunn and John Ellis dropped their match at No. 3 by the same score. The No. 1 match did not finish as the Colonels had clinched the point.
Omaha dropped singles matches at No. 1, No. 5, and No. 6. Colin Buckley dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision at No. 1 to Oleksander Podgursky. At No. 5, Kieran Cronin topped Ellis, 6-1, 7-5. Nicholls State clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6. The singles matches at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 went unfinished.
Thomas said the Spring Break matches are a learning experience for his team. "We are taking a lot from these matches and I am excited to see what we can do tomorrow against the University of New Orleans."
Omaha Mavericks 5, Loyola-New Orleans 1 (Mar 22, 2016 at New Orleans, La.)
Singles competition
1. Steven Le (LNO) vs. Colin Buckley (OMAHA) 7-6, 3-4, unfinished
2. Maxime Rumeau (LNO) vs. Matt Dunn (OMAHA) 1-6, 7-5, unfinished
3. Marko Minic (OMAHA) def. Sean Presti (LNO) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Erik Anderson (OMAHA) def. Ernesto de Diego (LNO) 1-6, 6-2, 6-0
5. Federico Mercado (LNO) vs. Ignace Warson (OMAHA) 7-5, 3-6, unfinished
6. ChrisGeorge Fourmaux (LNO) def. Sean Padios (OMAHA) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Colin Buckley/Ignace Warson (OMAHA) def. Steven Le/Ernesto de Diego (LNO) 8-5
2. Matt Dunn/John Ellis (OMAHA) def. Maxime Rumeau/Sean Presti (LNO) 8-6
3. Erik Anderson/Marko Minic (OMAHA) def. Federico Mercado/Ricardo Mercado (LNO) 8-4
Match Notes
Omaha Mavericks 7-10
Loyola-New Orleans 6-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,4)
Nicholls 4, Omaha Mavericks 0 (Mar 22, 2016 at Thibodaux, La.)
Singles competition
1. Oleksander Podgursky (NICM) def. Colin Buckley (OMAHA) 6-1, 6-2
2. Evan Karatzas (NICM) vs. Matt Dunn (OMAHA) 7-5, 2-0, unfinished
3. Max Sinn (NICM) vs. Alex Woodward (OMAHA) 6-3, 2-1, unfinished
4. Sam Meessen (NICM) vs. Marko Minic (OMAHA) 6-2, 4-1, unfinished
5. Kieran Cronin (NICM) def. John Ellis (OMAHA) 6-1, 7-5
6. Bernard Wezeman (NICM) def. Erik Anderson (OMAHA) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Oleksander Podgursky/Kieran Cronin (NICM) vs. Colin Buckley/Ignace Warson (OMAHA) 5-3, unfinished
2. Max Sinn/Bernard Wezeman (NICM) def. Erik Anderson/Alex Woodward (OMAHA) 6-2
3. Evan Karatzas/Sam Meessen (NICM) def. Matt Dunn/John Ellis (OMAHA) 6-2
Match Notes
Omaha Mavericks 7-11
Nicholls 3-10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,5,6)
