Men's Tennis Tops SMU on Senior Day, 5-2

Sunday, March 31

New Orleans

1 PM

Tulane University

SMU

Photo by: Parker Waters

Mar 31, 2019 | Men's Tennis

NEW ORLEANS – Despite rain forcing the match indoors, Tulane men's tennis team used a resilient effort in singles to hold on for a 5-2 win on Senior Day at the Hilton New Orleans Athletic Club on Sunday evening.

Ranked No. 43 nationally, the Green Wave (10-11) put on a dominant performance in doubles action, as Akos Kotorman and Hamish Stewart cruised to a 6-3 win from the No. 2 spot. Felix Ewers and Dane Esses finished off their opponents on court three for a 6-4 win to clinch the first team point.

With just three courts available at a time, momentum became a major factor with the start of singles play. The Mustangs (11-12) struck first with a straight-set win on court one to tie the match, 1-1, but Schick was quick to put the Wave back in front, 2-1, with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win of his own on court three.

Stewart was next to finish on court two, closing out the first set, 7-5, against the 124th-ranked Jan-Simon Vrbsky, but fell behind, 4-1, in the second frame. He battled back however, forcing a 5-5 tie and eventually a 6-6 tiebreaker where he held multiple match points before finally closing it out, 11-9, to push Tulane's advantage to 3-1 on the scoreboard.

SMU its deficit in half, 3-2, with a straight-set win on court four, but the Green Wave held all the momentum from that point.

Kotorman bounced back from a lost first set on court five to win the second, 6-4, before cruising to a 6-1 win in the deciding frame to complete the comeback and clinch the match.

Ewers was the last match remaining, as he trailed 4-3 midway through the first set before taking control of the battle. He won the first frame, 6-4, and eased his way to a 6-2 victory in the second to notch the Wave's fourth singles win of the day.

Tulane hosts Nicholls State and New Orleans in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 2 at the City Park Tennis Center. The Green Wave will face the Colonels at noon, before taking on the Privateers at 4 p.m.

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#43 Tulane 5, SMU 2

Singles competition
1. #74 Carles Sarrio (SMU) def. #64 Ewan Moore (TLN) 6-2, 6-0
2. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. #124 Jan-Simon Vrbsky (SMU) 7-5, 7-6 (11-9)
3. Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Roberto Rosales (SMU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Tomas Vaise (SMU) def. Dane Esses (TLN) 6-4, 6-4
5. Akos Kotorman (TLN) def. Huntley Allen (SMU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Felix Ewers (TLN) def. Gardiner Perotti (SMU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Ewan Moore/Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Jan-Simon Vrbsky/Tomas Vaise (SMU) 6-5, unfinished
2. Akos Kotorman/Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. Carles Sarrio/Huntley Allen (SMU) 6-3
3. Felix Ewers/Dane Esses (TLN) def. Michael Smith/Andrew Buhelos (SMU) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,2,4,5*,6)

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