April 13, 2013
BALTIMORE - Road trip to New York proves to be successful in first match of two this weekend, as the Loyola University Maryland men and women's tennis teams defeat Siena College, 4-3 and 5-2, respectively.
In the men's match, the Greyhounds made it look easy, taking all three doubles matches to take the early lead, 1-0, going into singles. Senior captain Bobby Gorczakowski and freshman Connor Pietrak led Loyola at #1 doubles, defeating the Saints, 8-2. In the other two doubles matches with pairings of Harrison Kunkel/Connor Lisco and Jordan Kuchta/Greg Olesnycky, the Greyhounds kept it close but won 9-8 in both matches.
In singles, Gorczakowski and Kunkel moved Loyola's lead to 3-0 for the match with great play at #1 and #2 singles. The Saints eased their way back into the match with back-to-back victories at #3 and #4 singles, defeating Pietrak and Kuchta. Kuchta played hard up to the end, as he took it to extra sets falling 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Lisco sealed the match with a close second-set victory at #5 singles, winning 6-2, 7-6.
With the victory, the men's record improves to 10-5 for the season.
The women improved their record to 12-3 today with a strong 5-2 win over the Saints. In doubles, freshmen Haleigh Morgus and Emily Hughes shutdown Siena at the #1 slot with an impressive 8-0 victory. Siena took the second match, 8-5, over Greyhounds' Megan Hahn and Olivia Ott, leaving the doubles point decision on the third match. At #3 doubles, Scarlett Hoy and Tiffany Ash grabbed the point for Loyola as they knocked off the Saints, 8-5.
With a 1-0 lead headed into singles, Hahn and Morgus showed skill with victories in #1 and #2 singles. Hahn won 6-1, 6-0, as well as Morgus winning 6-2, 6-3. Once again, Siena didn't give up on the match, taking the next two singles matches over Hughes and Hoy. #5 singles Ott and #6 singles Ash sealed the win for the Greyhounds as both won their matches. Ott pulled out a close first set, winning 7-6, 6-1, as Ash took it to extra sets, winning 3-6, 6-0, 7-5.
Both squads continue their conference road trip in New York as they travel to Poughkeepsie on Sunday for a dual match against MAAC-foe Marist College. Start time is set for 10 a.m.
