Men’s Tennis Drops Finals Two Matches
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men’s tennis team were able to continue their Southland Conference fixture against New Orleans on Saturday morning, after the match had been postponed due to rain on Friday. They lost to the Privateers 5-2 at the Mabry Tennis Center and were then swept by Texas A&M-Corpus Christ, 6-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals (5-16, 0-5) were interrupted by a rain delay after completing the doubles competition and three singles contests to fall behind 3-1 on the Friday. The Privateers (10-9, 3-1) won the first point from the doubles, securing two out of three matches with the #1 match going unfinished. Josip Smoljan and Leonard Ivic lost to Rui Silva and Blake Gregor 8-1, while Ryan Hoverson and Brody Rodriguez lost to Christoffer Applegren and Giacomo Adoncecchi, 8-5.
In the singles contests, the Cardinals came out looking strong, with three out of the four matches that were being played resulting in a first set win for UIW. At the #1 seed, Ivic continued his good form and defeated Timo Kranz, 6-2, 6-4 to earn the Cardinals first point, but the Privateers responded and went back into the lead after Tucker Brown lost 6-4, 6-2 against Gregor at the #4 match.
At the number #3 seed, Joey Vatanadilok won his first set with a confident 6-1, but dropped the second 7-6 and went on to lose the third due to a cramp. This left #2 seed Josip Smoljan still in play, after he won his first set 6-2 and lost the second 7-6, resulting in a third set. Hoverson and Roriguez had begun their contests when the rain called for the game to be stopped and rescheduled.
On Saturday, Smoljan came out to win the third set and give the Cardinals their second point with a 7-5 result. Unfortunately, straight set losses for Hoverson and Rodriguez gave the Privateers the win.
The Cardinals played their final match of the season against the Islanders in the afternoon and lost, 6-0.
With more rain threatening to cancel the match, the teams did not follow the usual format as they did not play a doubles competition.
Going straight into the singles matches, the Cardinals faced an uphill battle against the Southland Conference leaders and the Islanders (16-6, 5-0) came out on top in all contests.
Josip Smoljan posted a strong performance at the #2 seed for the Cardinals with a three set battle against Kevin Bettendroffer. After winning the first set 6-4, he went on to drop the second, 4-6 and narrowly lost the third, 10-8, despite some great tennis.
The fixture also marked the final career match for senior Leonard Ivic who lost 7-6, 6-1 to Peter Nagy at the #1 seed. As a leading performer for the Cardinals, Ivic has posted three great seasons for UIW. In his first year he earned all-Lone Star Conference First Team honors in singles and doubles and posted a 15-6 overall singles record. He followed this in 2013-14 with 15 doubles victories and a 15-12 mark to go with a 20-13 singles record. He was named to the Southland Conference All-Academic first team and to the SLC Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Coach Pierce Branden said, “Today was Leo’s last match and he gave everything he had. It was a great match against a very tough opponent. He was in it up until the last point. We will all miss Leo and I wish him the best in the future.”
Brandan also reflected on the season and said, “This season has been a tough learning experience for all of us. We have had to overcome many injuries and obstacles along the way. I am proud of how hard these men fought every match for each other. They have been exposed to the highest levels of college tennis and know what to expect for next year. I am sure that the mental toughness they have built this year will be a step forward in the direction we to be one day.”
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