SEATTLE – Despite straight set wins on the top two singles courts, the Husky men’s tennis team fell by a 4-2 count at the Nordstrom Tennis Center to visiting Oregon tonight, snapping a three-match win streak. The match was even at 2-2 with the final three matches all in third sets, but the 57th-ranked Ducks (11-5) got wins on courts four and six to finish the job.
“Tough battle from both teams as it usually is against them,” said Head Coach Rahim Esmail. “We expect a tough match and we came up on the short end today. We’ll continue to work and get better, it’s the only thing we can do. We put ourselves in opportunities to win, and we’ve got to keep working to find ways to capitalize on those opportunities.”
Oregon grabbed the doubles point with wins on courts 1 and 3, with UW winning on court two via Nedim Suko and Brett Pearson.
But UW scored the first two punches in singles play. Dzianis Zharyn kept up his recent roll, dispatching David Cierny, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2 singles. Cesar Bouchelaghem then took down No. 101 Quinn Vandecasteele at the No. 1 spot, 6-3, 6-4.
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— Washington Men’s Tennis (@UW_MTennis) March 8, 2024
Oregon tied it back up with a 6-4, 6-3 win from Vlad Breazu over Han-Chih Lin, sapping Lin’s six-match win streak.
Lenn Luemkemann put the Ducks back in front with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Jim Hendrikx. At No. 4 singles, Nedim Suko won the first set, 6-4, over Matthew Burton, but Burton won the second set by the same score. Burton led 3-0 in the third set but Suko rallied to even it at 4-4. But Burton then broke serve and served out the match, 6-4, to clinch the win.
Freshman Ivan Sodan’s No. 5 singles match didn’t finish, but Sodan showed plenty of heart as he won the second set tiebreak, 7-5, to stay alive and force a third set against Zian Vanderstappen. They were at 1-2 in the third set when the match was suspended.
Washington will head on the road for its Pac-12 opener next weekend, Mar. 16, at Stanford. Today’s dual against Oregon was a non-conference match as the teams play again on Apr. 13 in Eugene.
Washington Men’s Tennis
March 7, 2024
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center
#71 Washington – 2
#57 Oregon – 4
Singles
1. Cesar Bouchelaghem (UW) def. (#101) Quinn Vandecasteele (Ore) – 6-3, 6-4
2. Dzianis Zharyn (UW) def. David Cierny (Ore) – 6-2, 6-2
3. Vlad Breazu (Ore) def. Han-Chih Lin (UW) – 6-4, 6-3
4. Matthew…
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