@UNCO_MensTennis Makes it Four Wins in a Row, Defeats Creighton 4-3

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado grabbed its fourth straight team win on Saturday, defeating non-conference opponent Creighton in a close match 4-3 at Work Out West in Greeley. The Bears earned the doubles point in narrow fashion, before getting wins in singles from Connor Finerty, Kyle Pease, and Alex Vakouftsis.

Kyle Pease's match at No. 2 singles clinched the win for UNC. It took three tough sets for him to come out on top. With the win, Northern Colorado improves its spring record to 4-4 overall (2-1 Big Sky) and Creighton drops to 3-5. The Bears will play their second of three matches in three days on Sunday when they face Colorado State-Pueblo at 1:00pm. Then on Monday, they conclude their eight-match homestand at 9:00am versus Big Sky opponent Southern Utah.

Scores
Doubles
1. UNC (Cramer, Vakouftsis) def. CU (Lang, Kendall) 6-2
2. UNC (King, Pease) def. CU (Koca, Meuse) 7-5
3. CU (Gandini, Lopez-Rey) def. UNC (Lombardi, Finerty) 6-4
Singles
1- UNC (Connor Finerty) def. CU (Armando Gandini) 6-1, 6-4
2- UNC (Kyle Pease) def. CU (Harrison Lang) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
3- UNC (Alex Vakouftsis) def. CU (Alex Koca) 6-4, 6-4
4- CU (Brooks Kendall) def. UNC (Hayden Cramer) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
5- CU (Jake Glazer) def. UNC (Agustin Lombardi) 4-6, 6-4, 11-9
6- CU (Daniel Lopez-Rey) def. UNC (Cassell King) 6-3, 6-4

Time of the match: 3 hours, 56 minutes

Doubles Breakdown:

1- Hayden Cramer and Alex Vakouftsis lost the first game, but rebounded to take a 2-1 lead in the set. They continued to play well for the remainder of the set, taking it 6-2. Both Cramer and Vakouftsis were consistently able to return serves deep in the court and come forward to put away volleys. Time of the match: 30 minutes

2- With the other doubles matches split, the No. 2 doubles match became the decider for the team doubles point. Playing down a break early, Cassell King served well to help the Bears to a 6-5 lead, and then had three break points to grab the set. Finally, the Bears got the break on their third chance, taking the set 7-5. Time of the match: 40 minutes

3- Both teams served well early, but Connor Finerty and Agustin Lombardi earned a break of serve to go up 3-2. They were unable to hold on and Creighton served it out for a 6-4 win. Time of the match: 33 minutes

Singles Breakdown:

1- Connor Finerty forced enough errors from Armando Gandini to win the first set 6-1. Gandini, down 4-1 in the second set grabbed the momentum back to get within a game at 4-3, but Finerty shut the door serving in the final game to win the second set 6-4.

2- Kyle Pease continually used his strong forehand in his match against Harrison Lang. After winning the first set with relative ease, the second became a much more difficult task, and Lang took it 6-4. In the third, the two traded breaks early but Pease was able to grab the last one and serve out the match 6-2.

3- Alex Vakouftsis was able to win in straight sets. He moved well and used his forehand to move his opponent, Alex Koca from corner to corner throughout the match. His calm demeanor on court has served him well this spring and allowed him to not let momentum shift too far in his opponents' favor.

4- Hayden Cramer was forced to play another three set match against Creighton, something he has become very familiar with this spring. After winning the first set easily, Brooks Kendall turned the tables in the second and third, winning the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

5- Agustin Lombardi faced an opponent with a strong first serve, but the match was close throughout. After splitting the first two sets, Lombardi held match points in the third set tiebreaker before Jake Glazer was able to come out on top by two points 11-9.

6- The No. 6 singles match was the second to last to finish. Daniel Lopez-Rey was able to be the more offensive player, winning the first set in a short time period 6-3. In the second, King was able to win more points, but came up just short 6-4.