University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, February 17
Greeley, CO
11:30 am
University of Northern Colorado
4
vs
3
Eastern Washington University
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Recap: @UNCO_MensTennis Beats Eastern Washington 4-3
2/17/2018 5:16:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Alex Exsted Wins Deciding Match to Give the Bears the Win
GREELEY, Colo. - In a contest lasting over four hours, Northern Colorado defeated Eastern Washington 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Work Out West Fitness Center. The match was tied 3-3 and the deciding point came down to No. 6 singles with freshman Alex Exsted was up to the task and pulled out a three-set win by getting a crucial break of serve to win the third set 6-4.
It is the first time since 2014 the Bears have won against Eastern Washington and the second time this season Exsted was able to win the deciding team point. The Bears put themselves in a good position by winning two of three doubles matches. Aside from Exsted, they also received singles wins from No. 2 Kyle Pease and No. 4 Nick Wade.
The Bears (5-3, 1-1 Conf.) play again tomorrow against the University of Idaho at 2:00 p.m. at Work Out West Fitness Center. Eastern Washington (4-3, 1-0 Conf.) plays North Dakota on Sunday in Grand Forks.
Scores-
Doubles
1. EW (Paz, Raveau) def. UNC (King, Finerty) 7-6(7)
2. UNC (Smalley, Pease) def. EW (Pereira, Field) 6-3
3. UNC (Wade, Kritzinger) def. EW (Almeida, Bats) 6-3
Singles
1- EW (Scott Paz) def. UNC (Connor Finerty) 6-2, 6-4
2- UNC (Kyle Pease) def. EW (Flavian Raveau) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
3- EW (Jeremy Field) def. UNC (Michael Kritzinger) 6-3, 6-4
4- UNC (Nick Wade) def. EW (Jeremy Mueller) 6-1, 6-3
5- EW (Marten Bats) def. UNC (Tommy Smalley) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
6- UNC (Alex Exsted) def. EW (Ricardo Almeida) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3) Singles (1,4,3,2,5,6)
Time of the match: 4 hrs. 31 min.
DOUBLES BREAKDOWN
No. 2 Kyle Pease and Tommy Smalley played well in the set earning a break at the midway point and holding on for a 6-3 advantage. They were also the first to finish.
At No. 3, Nick Wade and Michael Kritzinger jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage and did not relent, winning 6-2 to secure the team doubles point heading into singles.
No. 1 doubles featured a back and forth match that had to be decided in a tiebreaker. Finerty and King led 3-0 in games but Paz and Raveau climbed back into the set. Finery then had a chance to close out the set serving at 5-4 but again Paz and Raveau got a break to even the score. In the tiebreaker, a winner up the line by Finerty gave the Bears match point at 7-6, but Paz and Raveau did not crack and won the final three points to take the set 7-6.
SINGLES BREAKDOWN
No. 1: Connor Finerty has struggled often this season to win the first couple games of his matches but he almost always finds a way to turn things in his favor later on. After trailing 2-0 in the first set, Finerty began playing a more calculated, consistent game but still could not muster a break against Paz's left-handed kick serve. On serve in the second, Finerty earned a break point at 3-3 and forced an error from Paz to go up 4-3. Paz found another level of play after that and grabbed the break to won the second set 6-4.
No. 2: Kyle Pease struggled to match Flavian Raveau's consistency in the early going as went down 6-0 in the first set. Then he turned things around with a break of serve early in the second and led 3-1. Flaveau closed the gap to a game later in the second, but Pease held on to even the match at one set apiece. In the third, Pease jumped out to a 4-0 lead and continued to play controlled tennis. At 5-2 Pease served for the match, but was broken. He again served for it at 5-4 and won the deciding deuce point to close it out, putting the Bears ahead 3-2.
No. 3: Michael Kritzinger moved up a spot in Ben Gendron's lineup against Eastern Washington. The first set stayed on serve early but Jeremy Field grabbed a break to go up 4-3 and capture the set. Kritzinger reversed the momentum and took a 3-0 second set lead. Field got it back on serve for 5-4 and broke Krizinger for a 6-4 second set.
No. 4: Nick Wade grabbed an early 3-0 advantage in the first set, having gained momentum from a stunning winner off Jeremy Mueller's attempted drop shot in the first game of the match. After taking the first set, Wade went up a break for 2-1 early in the second and never relented. He took the win in straight sets.
No. 5: Tommy Smalley played against the tall-big serving Marten Bats but his speed and touch were overwhelming advantages. Smalley rushed to a 6-2 first set. Both players were unsuccessful holding their serve early in the second. Eventually, Bats came out ahead 6-4. In the third, Smalley found himself on defense far too often and lost 6-0.
No. 6: Alex Exsted was picked in confidence by Ben Gendron to play No. 6 after he won the deciding point in a match earlier this spring against Colorado State-Pueblo. Exsted was down a break 4-3 to Ricardo Almeida and eventually lost the first set in a tiebreak 7-5. He rebounded to take the second 6-2 and minimized his unforced errors in the third. Almeida blinked first, losing his serve at 4-5 to finish.
It is the first time since 2014 the Bears have won against Eastern Washington and the second time this season Exsted was able to win the deciding team point. The Bears put themselves in a good position by winning two of three doubles matches. Aside from Exsted, they also received singles wins from No. 2 Kyle Pease and No. 4 Nick Wade.
The Bears (5-3, 1-1 Conf.) play again tomorrow against the University of Idaho at 2:00 p.m. at Work Out West Fitness Center. Eastern Washington (4-3, 1-0 Conf.) plays North Dakota on Sunday in Grand Forks.
Scores-
Doubles
1. EW (Paz, Raveau) def. UNC (King, Finerty) 7-6(7)
2. UNC (Smalley, Pease) def. EW (Pereira, Field) 6-3
3. UNC (Wade, Kritzinger) def. EW (Almeida, Bats) 6-3
Singles
1- EW (Scott Paz) def. UNC (Connor Finerty) 6-2, 6-4
2- UNC (Kyle Pease) def. EW (Flavian Raveau) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
3- EW (Jeremy Field) def. UNC (Michael Kritzinger) 6-3, 6-4
4- UNC (Nick Wade) def. EW (Jeremy Mueller) 6-1, 6-3
5- EW (Marten Bats) def. UNC (Tommy Smalley) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
6- UNC (Alex Exsted) def. EW (Ricardo Almeida) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3) Singles (1,4,3,2,5,6)
Time of the match: 4 hrs. 31 min.
DOUBLES BREAKDOWN
No. 2 Kyle Pease and Tommy Smalley played well in the set earning a break at the midway point and holding on for a 6-3 advantage. They were also the first to finish.
At No. 3, Nick Wade and Michael Kritzinger jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage and did not relent, winning 6-2 to secure the team doubles point heading into singles.
No. 1 doubles featured a back and forth match that had to be decided in a tiebreaker. Finerty and King led 3-0 in games but Paz and Raveau climbed back into the set. Finery then had a chance to close out the set serving at 5-4 but again Paz and Raveau got a break to even the score. In the tiebreaker, a winner up the line by Finerty gave the Bears match point at 7-6, but Paz and Raveau did not crack and won the final three points to take the set 7-6.
SINGLES BREAKDOWN
No. 1: Connor Finerty has struggled often this season to win the first couple games of his matches but he almost always finds a way to turn things in his favor later on. After trailing 2-0 in the first set, Finerty began playing a more calculated, consistent game but still could not muster a break against Paz's left-handed kick serve. On serve in the second, Finerty earned a break point at 3-3 and forced an error from Paz to go up 4-3. Paz found another level of play after that and grabbed the break to won the second set 6-4.
No. 2: Kyle Pease struggled to match Flavian Raveau's consistency in the early going as went down 6-0 in the first set. Then he turned things around with a break of serve early in the second and led 3-1. Flaveau closed the gap to a game later in the second, but Pease held on to even the match at one set apiece. In the third, Pease jumped out to a 4-0 lead and continued to play controlled tennis. At 5-2 Pease served for the match, but was broken. He again served for it at 5-4 and won the deciding deuce point to close it out, putting the Bears ahead 3-2.
No. 3: Michael Kritzinger moved up a spot in Ben Gendron's lineup against Eastern Washington. The first set stayed on serve early but Jeremy Field grabbed a break to go up 4-3 and capture the set. Kritzinger reversed the momentum and took a 3-0 second set lead. Field got it back on serve for 5-4 and broke Krizinger for a 6-4 second set.
No. 4: Nick Wade grabbed an early 3-0 advantage in the first set, having gained momentum from a stunning winner off Jeremy Mueller's attempted drop shot in the first game of the match. After taking the first set, Wade went up a break for 2-1 early in the second and never relented. He took the win in straight sets.
No. 5: Tommy Smalley played against the tall-big serving Marten Bats but his speed and touch were overwhelming advantages. Smalley rushed to a 6-2 first set. Both players were unsuccessful holding their serve early in the second. Eventually, Bats came out ahead 6-4. In the third, Smalley found himself on defense far too often and lost 6-0.
No. 6: Alex Exsted was picked in confidence by Ben Gendron to play No. 6 after he won the deciding point in a match earlier this spring against Colorado State-Pueblo. Exsted was down a break 4-3 to Ricardo Almeida and eventually lost the first set in a tiebreak 7-5. He rebounded to take the second 6-2 and minimized his unforced errors in the third. Almeida blinked first, losing his serve at 4-5 to finish.
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