UMBC’s men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled down to the Lone Star state for matches against the University of Texas- Pan American and Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi to kick off their spring season.
In the men’s first match of the trip, Texas- Pan American took the first doubles match when their duo of Nikola Crvelin and Hector Ramirez downed the Retriever’s pair of junior Eliott Loubatie and senior Kamal Patel, 6-2 in the No. 3 slot.
UMBC juniors Jaan Kononov and Melker Svard earned the Retriever’s their first win with a 6-3 victory over UTPA’s Miguel Alvarez-Hevia and Elliot Johnstone at the number two doubles slot.
Senior Daniel Gray and junior Alex Drean claimed the doubles point for UMBC with a 7-5 decision in the No. 1 doubles match. Both Gray and Drean achieved singles victories as well, helping the Retrievers beat UT-Pan American 4-3 in the Spring opener.
The women’s team earned their first win of the young season with a 4-3 victory at UT-Pan American. Senior Isabel Aldunate, who returned to action after suffering an injury this fall, was one of the many team members who helped pave the way to this achievement.
In the doubles matches, freshmen Laura Ambrozic and Alice Taylor won 6-2 in the No. 3 slot, and juniors Madlena Kurasz and Shannon Cleary won the No. 1 match, 6-4.
Sophomore Mariami Dolashvili led the way to a 2-0 lead with a win in the No. 2 singles slot. Hanna Victorsson sealed the deal with a 3-1 victory in the No. 6 slot.
Both the men’s and women’s teams saw Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for doubleheaders just a few days later. The Islanders took all four contest against the Retrievers.
On the men’s side, AMCC swept the singles matches in the opening contest, and took two out of three doubles matches. Patel and Loubatié were the lone victors for the Retrievers with a 6-3 win in the No. 3 doubles match.
The women’s team fared only slightly better in their first game, falling 4-1 to the Islanders. Victorsson and freshman Charlotte Tönjann won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles, and Victorsson defeated Islander Kerry Galhos 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, for the Retrievers’ lone point.
The men’s team put on a good show in game two, but AMCC eked by with the 4-3 decision. Svard, Drean and Patel all took points for the Retrievers with victories in their singles matches. The Islands won the clinching point with victories in the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches.
The women’s team were able to build on their first game, but still fell 5-2. AMCC took a quick point with 6-4 and 6-0 victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, respectively.
Victorsson started the Retrievers off right with a win at the No. 5 position, but AMCC responded with two points of their own. Junior Shannon Cleary brought the visitors within a point of the Islanders, but a three-set decision against sophomore Mariami Dolashvili in the No. 1 singles match sealed the Retrievers fate.
The women’s team will start the month of February in Newark, NJ, with a match against NJIT on the first. The men’s team will be home for their next match, as they host the University of Delaware Feb. 8.
