NEW ORLEANS - After winning four duals in a row by 7-0 scores, the University of New Orleans men's tennis team was hard pressed to do it for the fifth straight time, pulling out a 4-3 victory over Southern Illinois on Friday afternoon at the University Tennis Center.
Calvin Kemp was the only player for UNO (12-5) to win both matches against SIU (3-4) during the dual. Kemp and Ben Smith teamed up for the Privateers' lone doubles' victory, defeating Lucas Waked and Anton Leoneko 9-8 (8), while extending their win streak to six matches.
The freshman from Atlanta, Ga. later won his seventh straight singles' match, defeating Waked 6-2, 7-5.
The other two doubles' matches, which went the Salukis' way were close affairs with Eric West and Felipse Villasenor clinching the doubles' point in a tiebreaker, with a 9-8 (5) victory over Jose Gaspar and Vinay Kamineni.
Gaspar rebounded from the setback, improving to 11-0 at the No. 5 position, joining Kemp as the only straight-set singles' winners for UNO, defeating Leoneko 6-4, 6-3.
Of the remaining four singles' matches, three went the distance. The lone exception, a West win for SIU over Smith 6-4, 6-4 on the No. 3 court.
The Privateers claimed two of the three-setters, starting with a victory by Kamineni, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, who needed to rally from a set down to defeat Villasenor 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Oliver Cuthill won his fifth straight match and improved to 6-0 at No. 4 to clinch the match, beating Hugo Vidal 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. A Sebastian Rubiano win at No. 6 over Abdelrahman Zaki by a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 ended Zaki's four-match win streak to start his collegiate career, while closing the match.
The match was the final home dual of the season for UNO, who will travel to Gulf Shores, Ala. to face Auburn-Montgomery on Mar. 21 at 12 p.m. before traveling to West Florida on Apr. 7 to wrap up their regular season.
University of New Orleans 4, Southern Illinois 3
Mar 13, 2009 at New Orleans, La. (University Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Calvin Kemp (UNO) def. Lucas Waked (SIU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Vinay Kamineni (UNO) def. Felipse Villasenor (SIU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Eric West (SIU) def. Ben Smith (UNO) 6-4, 6-4
4. Oliver Cuthill (UNO) def. Hugo Vidal (SIU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
5. Jose Gaspar (UNO) def. Anton Leonenko (SIU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Sebastian Rubiano (SIU) def. Abdelrahman Zaki (UNO) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Calvin Kemp/Ben Smith (UNO) def. Lucas Waked/Anton Leonenko (SIU) 9-8 (10-8)
2. Hugo Vidal/Sebastian Rubiano (SIU) def. Guilherme Rebolo/Abdelrahman Zaki (UNO) 8-6
3. Eric West/Felipse Villasenor (SIU) def. Jose Gaspar/Vinay Kamineni (UNO) 9-8 (7-5)
