GREELEY, Colo. – The Metropolitan State University of Denver men's tennis team fell to a second straight Division I opponent in Greeley, Colo., on Friday, dropping a dual to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds by a score of 7-0. The Roadrunners were shorthanded, as No. 1 singles player
Joey Tscherne was out sick.
"It's always going to be tough when you can't fill a lineup, but credit to Southern Utah," MSU Denver head coach
Josh Graetz said. "They outperformed us and they are a really solid team."
Junior
Alejandro Martinez-Morilla moved up from his typical No. 2 singles slot into the No. 1 position for Tscherne, falling to Thunderbird senior Sal Mijares by a 6-2, 6-2 count. Sophomore
Daniel Llorente, moving up to No. 2 singles on Friday, put up a serious battle against SUU's Ken Shin. After dropping the first set 6-4, Llorente won the second set by the same score. Unfortunately, Shin edged Llorente in the set three tiebreaker, 10-8.
Junior transfer
Mateo Besada made it a contest in the No. 4 singles spot but fell to Agustin Tamagnone, 6-4, 6-4. Besada teamed up with Llorente for MSU Denver's only match victory of the day, beating Shin & Mijares by a 6-3 score in No. 2 doubles.
In No. 1 doubles, Martinez-Morilla and
David Kijak battled but ended up on the wrong side of a 6-4 score against Kijak's singles opponent, Jonathan Morales, and partner Conor Tordoff. Kijak dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Morales in singles action.
MSU Denver slipped to 1-2 in dual meets this season with the loss. Next, the Roadrunners will travel to St. George, Utah for a pair of duals on Sunday. MSU Denver will exhibit against Colorado Mesa at 9 a.m. Sunday before a 2 p.m. matchup with Western New Mexico.
"We need to learn from this quickly as we move into regional play," Graetz said.
MSU Denver Men's Tennis Results – Friday, Feb. 15, 2019
SINGLES
No. 1 | Sal Mijares (SUU) def.
Alejandro Martinez-Morilla (MSUD), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 | Ken Shin (SUU) def.
Daniel Llorente (MSUD), 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
No. 3 | Jonathan Morales (SUU) def.
David Kijak (MSUD), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 | Agustin Tamagnone (SUU) def.
Mateo Besada (MSUD), 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 | Juan Erro (SUU) def.
Kacey Walisundara (MSUD), 6-2, 6-1
DOUBLES
No. 1 | Tordoff & Morales (SUU) def. Kijak & Martinez-Morilla, 6-4
No. 2 | Llorente & Besada (MSUD) def. Shin & Mijares, 6-3
No. 3 | No match
