The Monmouth University men’s tennis team (2-0) faced Queens College (0-1) and Sacred Heart University (0-1) in back-to-back matches on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
The Hawks started the day with a 10 am match against Queens College, sweeping all singles and doubles competitions to secure a 7-0 win over the Knights. Niels Van Noord, Victor Castro, Dmitry Bezborodov, Alexander Zuckerman, Christof Zeiler, and Diego Laporta contributed singles victories for the Hawks. Bezborodov started the morning off strong, securing the first Monmouth victory in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) against Queens’ Roni Rikkonen. After winning a decisive first set 6-3, Monmouth’s Laporta overcame opponent Omar El Shehawey in a close 7-6 second set, winning the tie break 3-0.
Van Noord, Bezborodov, and Laporta also helped Monmouth dominate the doubles competition, where the Hawks again swept the Knights. All three doubles matches were won by Monmouth. Penman and Van Noord narrowly defeated Queens’ Cameron Henricy and Kareem Rashad 7-5. Bezborodov and Gabriel Busato also won their match, defeating Moritz Borges and Roni Rikkonen 6-3. Lucca Silva and Laporta earned a similar outcome in their match against El Shehawey and Lluis Miralles Miro in a decisive 6-1 victory.
Later that day, Monmouth faced Sacred Heart in a 1 p.m. matchup where the Hawks again defeated the visiting team, this time securing a 6-1 victory over Sacred Heart. Castro, Penman, Zuckerman, Silva, and Busato earned wins for the Hawks in singles competition, but not without a fight from the Pioneers. There were several close matches, including Monmouth’s Castro against Sacred Heart’s Lefteri Apostolou. After winning a decisive first set 6-2, Castro had to battle for the second set after going 7-6, ultimately winning the tie break 5-0.
Monmouth’s Penman went into a third set in his match against the Pioneers’ Matyas Vencl after splitting the first two sets 6-2 5-7, with Penman winning the third set 10-2. Zuckerman’s victory for the Hawks came after SHU’s Antoine Hernandez fell 7-6 in a close first set but ultimately retired during the second set when the score was 4-0.
Monmouth’s Arthur Dussaubat faced the only MU loss of the afternoon, falling to Sacred Heart’s Sebastian Colla after a grueling three sets of play (7-5, 5-7, 10-7).
In doubles competition, Monmouth continued to dominate as the Hawks won all three matches against the Pioneers. Penman and Van Noord posted their second doubles victory of the day, overtaking Sacred Heart’s Lefteri Apostolou and Alberto Mello 6-3. Bezborodov and Busato also secured two doubles wins after defeating Matyas Vencl and Antoine Hernandez 6-2.
The Hawks improved to 2-0 on the season following the wins over Queens College and Sacred Heart, increasing their regular season winning streak to 11 consecutive matches dating back to last year.
Up next, Monmouth will travel to West Point, NY to compete in the Army West Point Shootout from Friday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, Oct. 2.
