NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers men's tennis team (2-1) pulled off a massive comeback at flight one in doubles that propelled them to an overall dominant performance and a 7-0 victory over the Jackson State Tigers (0-3) on Friday at the University Tennis Center.
DOUBLES
Mats Westkamp and
Austin Vos put the finishing touches on a thrilling comeback on court one to polish off the doubles point. The afternoon started at flight three with a pair of freshmen who dominated from the start.
Mihajlo Drobnjakovic and
Max Heinzel were in command throughout as they won the first five games of the match. The score wound up 6-1 in their favor.
Then Westkamp and Vos took center stage. After falling behind 5-0 early, the duo executed a strong hold followed by their first break of the match. The momentum continued on the changeover as the big serving duo asserted their command.
After charging in front 6-5, Westkamp and Vos overcame an early 15-30 deficit in the deciding game to earn the opening point.
Misha Fomenkov and
Johannes Klein were on serve tied 5-5 at flight two when the point was finished.
SINGLES
The Privateers carried the momentum of their rally in doubles over to singles play. It started with Fomenkov who ran through his opponent while only dropping one game in a straight set victory.
Malte Steingass was not far behind as he coasted to a 6-1 first set victory. He then secured a break during the second set to take the match 6-1, 6-4.
Westkamp provided the clinching point. After finishing up the first set strong, he continued on with two breaks in the second set to notch a 6-4, 6-2 win.
Klein and Heinzel also pulled straight set wins. Meanwhile, Vos came back from down a set to win at flight six.
FROM THE COACH
"We settled down and took it one point at a time. Our percentages got better on the returns and volleys and we became the aggressors. One game leads to another and another and all of a sudden the match went in our favor."
"You go back on the singles court and you carry that mentally. I think the momentum shifted and we became very methodical. Our execution was very good after that. You have to stay patient and play smart and that's what we did."
NEXT UP
The men's team will take to the court again on Feb. 5 when they host Alcorn State at 2 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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