Men's Tennis Earns First Victory In Program History, Takes Down Clark, 6-3
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's tennis team made history, winning its first ever match in program history, defeating Clark University (Clark), 6-3, Saturday afternoon at the Elizabeth Ferry Speer Tennis Complex in West Hartford, Conn. With the victory, the Blue Jays improve to 1-1 overall in their inaugural season, while Clark dropped their season opener, falling to 0-1. USJ won five-of-six singles, and one doubles match en route to the inaugural victory.
MATCH INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 6, Clark 3
Records: USJ (1-1), Clark (0-2)
Location: Elizabeth Ferry Speer Tennis Complex (West Hartford, Conn.)
Clark's senior Dariy Vykhodtsev (Saco, Maine) teamed with freshman Graham Russo (Bridgewater, Mass.) for an 8-1 win at first doubles over the USJ tandem of graduate student Brandon Sze (South Windsor, Conn.) and freshman Marko Karpyuk (Wethersfield, Conn.) to take the early lead in the match. Sze would get revenge against Vykhodtsev at number one singles, taking home a victory, 6-1, after Vykhodtsev was forced to retire in the second set. Karpyuk fought hard, but was defeated in singles action, dropping number three singles to Clark sophomore Aidan Hurtado (Atlanta, Ga.) in a tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-3 (10-7).
USJ freshmen duo Noah Rivera (Armonk, N.Y.) and Ryan Boucher (Bedford, N.H.), levelled the score at 1-1 after picking up the victory in second doubles, 8-1, defeating Clark's pair of Holden Moore and senior Sam Pomann (Piermont, N.Y.). Clark would retake the lead in the match during the final doubles match, number three doubles, as freshmen Sai Chanda (Ashland, Mass.) and Fergus Brady (Fayetteville, N.Y.) defeated the Blue Jays' pairing of Patrick Gavrylchuk (Middletown, Conn.) and Evan Haskins (Sutton, Mass.), 8-6, to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
With the match tied at 2-2 following Sze's victory at number one singles, Gavrylchuk swung the lead back in USJ's favor, defeating senior Joshua Ofosu-Amo (Accra, Ghana) in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 edge. Junior Tyler Hussey (Rocky Hill, Conn.) kept the momentum rolling for the Blue Jays, increasing the lead in the match to 4-2 after picking up a commanding straight set victory, 6-0, 6-3, against Clark's Brady at number six singles.
River would secure USJ's first-ever victory at number two singles, defeating sophomore Ryan Hovey (Newburgh, N.Y.) in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, giving USJ a 5-2 lead. Boucher added onto the Blue Jays' lead, coming back after dropping the opening set to pick up the victory at number four singles against Chanda, 7-5, 6-1 (10-1). Hurtado would get one back for the Cougars to close out the match, defeating Kapyuk in comeback fashion, 3-6, 6-3 (10-7), giving USJ the victory in the match, 6-3.
UP NEXT
Men's tennis returns back to the courts on Saturday, October 8 for a non-conference match on the road at Rhode Island College. Opening serve between the Blue Jays and Anchorman is slated for 3:00 p.m. at the RIC Tennis Center in Providence, R.I.