No. 24 Men's Tennis Tops VCU on Senior Day, 5-2

Sunday, April 11

New Orleans

12 PM

Tulane University

VCU

Photo by: Parker Waters

No. 24 Men's Tennis Tops VCU on Senior Day, 5-2

Apr 11, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS - The 24th-ranked Tulane men's tennis team earned a hard-fought, 5-2 home win on Senior Day over No. 36 VCU on Sunday afternoon at the City Park Tennis Center.

The win marks Tulane's second in a row and sixth in its last seven outings after defeating No. 29 Wichita State by the same score Friday afternoon.

The Green Wave (13-6) faced an early deficit in doubles, trailing 4-1 in court three and down one break on court one despite a 4-1 advantage on court two. Akos Kotorman and Billy Suarez were able to close out the match at No. 2 by a score of 6-4 to earn their team-leading 12th win of the spring. On court three, Luis Erlenbusch and Fynn Kuenkler battled all the way back from their three-game deficit by winning five in a row to upend Charles Bertimon and Quentin Coulaud, 6-4, and clinch the doubles point.

Leading 1-0 heading into singles, Tulane kept the pressure on VCU when Suarez closed out No. 4 singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, over Coulaud. Fifth-year senior Ewan Moore wasn't far behind, as he gutted out an impressive 7-6(5) first-set win on court two. He then held off a second-set surge by Bertimon to win, 6-4, and extend the Green Wave's advantage to 3-0 in the overall match.

The Rams (12-4) were able to keep their hopes alive however, forcing decisive third sets on all four of the remaining courts. VCU got on the scoreboard with a a three-set win on court one, followed by a comeback win on court six, to cut its deficit to just one, 3-2.

After dropping his first set, 6-3, on court three, Erlenbusch dug deep for a late break to win the second frame, 6-4, before winning the third set by the same count to end the Rams' threat with the clinching victory. Erlenbusch has now won nine consecutive matches and holds a team-leading 13-4 overall record for the season.

...🎥 (2/2): Booras continued pic.twitter.com/EEO8F5gRPk
— Tulane Men's Tennis (@GreenWaveMTenn) April 11, 2021

In the final remaining match, freshman Rafael de Alba dropped a tough first set, 7-6(6), but proved dominant in the final two frames by winning 6-2 and 6-1 to collect his fifth straight win and Tulane's fifth point of the day.

Up next, the Green Wave close out the regular season with a road trip to Houston to face Rice on Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m.

#24 Tulane 5, #36 VCU 2
Singles competition
1. Lleyton Cronje (VCU) def. #29 Hamish Stewart (TLN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
2. Ewan Moore (TLN) def. Charles Bertimon (VCU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
3. Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) def. Inigo Torre Martin (VCU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Billy Suarez (TLN) def. Quentin Coulaud (VCU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Rafael de Alba (TLN) def. Rayane Stable (VCU) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-1
6. Timo Zgraggen (VCU) def. Akos Kotorman (TLN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #45 Ewan Moore/Hamish Stewart (TLN) vs. #51 Inigo Torre Martin/Rayane Stable (VCU) 3-5, unfinished
2. Akos Kotorman/Billy Suarez (TLN) def. Lleyton Cronje/David Cierny (VCU) 6-4
3. Luis Erlenbusch/Fynn Kuenkler (TLN) def. Charles Bertimon/Quentin Coulaud (VCU) 6-4

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