The Lipscomb men’s tennis team finished the weekend with a 4-1 loss to end their three-match winning streak on Saturday against University of Alabama at Birmingham at Richland Country Club.
The Purple and Gold (3-5) were unable to use their previous win against Illinois State as momentum into Saturday’s match.
The Bisons started off the dual matches by mixing up their doubles teams to lean more to their aggressive playing at the net. Senior John Tougher and junior Rob Mitchell combined to take the lead before play was stopped.
In singles, Mitchell got the first win out of the two teams as he stepped up to take his fourth win in a row.
“[Mitchell] did really well today, especially mentally,” head coach Mario Hernandez said. “He was locked in early. That’s what we want from all of our guys — focus on your job.”
The singles continued from positions two through six, where the teams battled it out in a match that mimicked conference play.
“It was a tough match but we needed a intense environment that would imitate a conference match,” Hernandez said. “It is all about building experience to where we go into conference feeling comfortable with tight matches.”
At the two spot, sophomore Alejandro Manzanares, lead in both sets but was unable to hold his serve against Eric Komati who pulled out the win 7-5, 6-4.
The Blazers (4-3) received their fourth point against sophomore Philippe Courteau, who lost two intense tie-breakers (7-6, 7-6) against Christian Coetzee at the third line.
“I’m really proud of the boys battling it out on every court but it is just the beginning,” Courteau said. “Lipscomb Bisons are going to do really big things this year, so I can’t help but be excited for the season.”
The Bisons have a couple of weeks before they take on their next opponents.
“We need to sharpen up each of the guys game a bit,” Hernandez said. “Each guy has something to work on, so having these two weeks is a blessing.”
The Bisons will hit the court against Jacksonville State on March 5 at Houston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics