DENVER, Colo. – The MSU Denver men's tennis team suffered a 6-1 loss to Division I Air Force on Friday in a rematch from an earlier exhibition competition.
"We started slow in doubles and that cost us," MSU Denver coach
Josh Graetz said. "I thought we competed well in singles and put ourselves in positions to win, but we didn't convert enough important points."
The Roadrunners fell short on the first two doubles matches, but
Jack McDermott and
Jeanloup Auzias were able to pull out at 6-2 win to continue their win streak on the doubles court, improving to 7-0 for the season.
McDermott carried over his competitive play to the singles court where he battled at No. 2, but he eventually suffered a three-set loss.
The Roadrunners were able to improve from their original exhibition match by earning a point in singles competition when
David Kijak pulled out a thrilling three-set win at No. 5.
"David had a good win today against the same player he lost to at Air Force back in January," Graetz said. "I was happy he put it together."
Kijak started his match strong with a 6-4 win in the first set, but slipped in the second set, 7-6, which led to a third and final set. Kijak did not back down after dropping the set, and he was able to convert on key points in the superset to seal the victory at 10-8.
Daniel Llorente also battled in his singles match by forcing a tiebreaker in the first set, but Paul Hendrix was eventually too much and Llorente lost the match 7-6, 6-4.
The Roadrunners will be heading out to California at the end of the weekend to begin a four-match road trip against conference foes. The first match will be on Monday against No. 9 Azusa Pacific.
Air Force: 6, MSU Denver 1
DOUBLES
No. 1 Paul Hendrix/Jamie Bautista (AF) def.
Mateo Besada/
Daniel Llorente 6-4
No. 2 Robert Baylon/Jordan Azuma (AF) def.
Billy McDermott/
Alejandro Martinez-Morilla, 6-1
No. 3
Jack McDermott/
Jeanloup Auzias (MSUD) def. Jonathan Mascagni/Justin Waldman, 6-2
SINGLES
No. 1 Paul Hendrix (AF) def.
Daniel Llorente, 7-6 (3), 6-4
No. 2 Justin Waldman (AF) def.
Jack McDermott, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Robert Baylon (AF) def.
Mateo Besada, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Sean McKendree (AF) def.
Alejandro Martinez-Morilla, 6-2, 6-1
No. 5
David Kijak (MSUD) def. Jordan Azuma, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-8
No. 6 Jonathan Mascagni (AF) def.
Billy McDermott, 7-5, 6-2
