HOUSTON — The No. 23-ranked Southwestern men's tennis team picked up a pair of victories on Saturday, defeating SCAC opponent St. Thomas with a 7-2 win, followed by a 5-2 win over Prairie View A&M.
Match 1: Southwestern 7, St. Thomas 2
St. Thomas picked up an early doubles point when Juanrodrigo Lopez and Jace Ware won 8-4 against Vesko Lekovic and Hemanshu Rambojun at No. 1 doubles. Still, Southwestern recovered with convincing wins at the No. 2 and 3 spots.
Hunter Bajoit and Jared Burton defeated Tyler Head and Carson Steele 8-2, and Oscar Roy and Carlos Esteban Rodero posted an 8-1 win over Andrew True and Dorian Cudina.
"Carlos and Oscar continue to be a force for us at No. 3 and played solid doubles for us to give us momentum early," Southwestern head tennis coach Billy Porter says.
Bajoit opened No. 1 singles with a 6-1 first-set win over Lopez, then battled from behind to take the second set 7-5. Then, after Lekovic dropped a 6-0, 6-1 match to Head at No. 2 singles, Anton Borovik defeated Ware 6-4, 6-2.
"Hunter wasn't feeling well and really dug deep against a tough player. He was down 3-5 in the second and ran off four straight games to close it out," Porter says. "Anton had a good day at No. 3, and I thought he played composed to secure a good win."
At the bottom of the lineup, Roy and Burton earned 6-0, 6-0 victories at No. 5 and 6 singles over True and Steele.
Match 2: Southwestern 5, Prairie View 2
Playing with the NCAA Division I scoring format, Southwestern secured the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and 3 doubles over Prairie View.
Prairie View posted a victory at No. 1 doubles with Jorge Juarez and Juan Malham defeating Burton and Rambojun in the latter's first match together. However, Southwestern responded with two wins.
Bajoit and Tibbetts were flawless in a 6-0 win over Jaydn Boone and Adrien Blackwell, followed by Roy and Esteban defeating Diego Hatem and Joseph Gonzales 6-3.
"We secured the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No 3," Porter says. "I was pleased how Jared and Hemanshu played at No. 1, having never played together."
At the top of the lineup, Juarez defeated Bajoit 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, and Malham bested Borovik in a tough, three-set match 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
"Anton didn't win, but he performed well," Porter says. "He was down 2-5 in the third to get back on service, and I was impressed with the grit he showed today."
Tibbetts scored a 6-2, 6-0 win over Hatem at No. 3 single, and Roy bested Gonzales 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 4 spot. Burton won a three-set match 4-6, 6-1, 10-6 over Boone at No. 5, and Daniel Haley won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 over Blackwell.
"Daniel got us a quick point at No. 6, and I felt he played strong tennis overall," Porter says. "He continues to improve and is getting reps, which will only get him that much better."
Southwestern improves to 11-6 with the win, including 3-0 against SCAC opponents. The Pirates will host Schreiner on Thursday at 5:00 p.m.