Mason men's tennis concluded a successful spring trip recording a 3-1 record over the break. After winning their first three matches of the week the Patriots lost a close match to South Carolina State 4-3 at Chaplin Park in Hilton Head, SC.

SC State took the doubles point with wins at two and three doubles. At one doubles Joe Hill and Jimmy Lange battled back and forth with SC State's Stiburek and Kobza.  Mason gained a service break to go up 6-5, but SC State broke back to even the match. The match then went to a tiebreaker. In the breaker Mason saved two match points before coming back to win 10-8. 

The three doubles team of Jimmy Davis and Chris Borden fell behind early and we're unable to close the gap as they lost 8-4 to Vala and Figura. Taylor Sargent and Tanner Baine lost to Baca and Mouline 8-7, 7-5 in the tiebreaker at two doubles. 

In singles SC State won at two, five, and six, while Mason claimed the one, three, and four singles matches. Tanner Baine lost 6-3, 6-4 to Daniel Vala at five singles, and Jimmy Lange fell to Martin Kobza 6-4, 6-1 at two singles. SC State's Martin Figura won 6-2, 6-2 over Nick Barker at six singles. 

At three singles Mason's Joe Hill closed out the first set over Stanislav Baco 7-6, with a 7-2 win in the tiebreaker.  Hill carried the momentum over to the second set with a strong 6-2 win. Jimmy Davis claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over SC State's Jiri Stiburek at one singles. At four singles Aaron Capitel lost the first set 6-4 to Soufiane Mouline. At 4-4 in the second set Capitel secured a service break at 4-4 to go up 5-4. After holding serve to claim the second set, the match went to a super breaker for the third set. Capitel took the lead early in the super breaker and held on to win 10-4. 

"We had a great competitive match today with SC State. The doubles point was decided on a tiebreaker and we split the singles with each team winning three," said Coach Gary Quam, "I'm pleased with the way we are competing against very good teams. This trip was very productive for us. We won three out four matches, adjusted to playing outdoors, and improved our endurance with four matches in four days. I feel we are well prepared for the upcoming A-10 matches."

Mason drops to 6-6 on the season with the loss. Up next for the Patriots is a home match versus Howard. The match is scheduled for Wednesday March 19th at 2:30 PM.

DOUBLES

1.     Hill/Lange (Mason) def. Stiburek/Kobza, 8-7 (10-8)

2.     Baca/Mouline def. Sargent/Baine (Mason), 8-7 (7-5)

3.     Vala/Figura def. Davis/Borden (Mason), 8-4

SINGLES

1.     Jimmy Davis (Mason) def. Jiri Stiburek, 6-4, 6-4          

2.     Martin Kobza def. Jimmy Lange (Mason), 6-4, 6-1

3.     Joe Hill (Mason) def. Stanislav Baco, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2

4.     Aaron Capitel (Mason) def. Soufiane Mouline, 4-6, 6-4, 10-4

5.     Daniel Vala def. Tanner Baine (Mason), 6-3, 6-4

6.     Martin Figura def. Nick Barker (Mason), 6-2, 6-2

 

 FINAL SCORE:  Mason:  3                      Opponent:  4

 Order of Finish

Doubles: 3, 2, 1

Singles: 5, 2, 6, 3, 1, 4