Men's Tennis 3/8/2019 10:19:00 PM

Men's Tennis Sweeps Doubleheader at Home

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The red hot Highlanders continued its win-streak Friday afternoon as the UC Riverside Men's Tennis Team bested Villanova and Hope International in a tough doubleheader. UCR bested the Wildcats 4-3 for its third straight victory before toping HIU 5-2 for its fourth.

"Once again our top three guys and [Andreas Whelan-Merediz] saved the day for us," Head Coach Mattias Johansson said. " We need everyone to step up to the plate this upcoming week if we want to be successful. I'm glad we got the win, but we are always looking to the next match and we can't rely on out top players to get it done match in match out."

MATCH ONE
Villanova was tough out of the gates taking the doubles point with wins on courts one and three, while the Highlanders duo of Kyle McCann and Whelan-Merediz earned a 6-2 win on two.

Down 1-0, the Highlanders rose to the occasion with four athletes grabbing wins on the top five courts. McCann was te first off with a 6-3, 6-1 win on court one and Whelan-Merediz gave the team the lead with a 6-2, 6-3 win on five.

Gilbert Chung was the next off with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court three but Villanova was quick to respond taking court four to cut the lead 3-2.

Finally, Nabil Abdallah sealed the deal on court two dropping his opponent in three sets 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to give his team a 4-3 win.

MATCH TWO
The win over a much improved Hope International team was a different story for the Highlanders who took the doubles point with wins from the duos of McCann and Whelan-Merediz and Anderson Ju and Max Cohen.

With a 1-0 lead, UCR pounced on the opportunity snatching the first four singles bouts to earn its fourth straight triumph.

Chung the first off with a perfect 6-0, 6-0 win on court three, before Ju added a 6-3, 6-1 win on six. Whelan-Merediz gave himself a perfect day with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on court four and Abdallah added another strong performance taking court two 6-2, 6-1.

HIU finished strong taking courts five and one giving UC Riverside a 5-2 win.

Players Mentioned

Nabil Abdallah: 6' 2"; Junior

Gilbert Chung: 5' 7"; Junior

Max Cohen: 6' 0"; Junior

Anderson Ju: 5' 9"; Senior

Kyle McCann: 6' 1"; Senior

Andreas Whelan-Merediz: 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Nabil Abdallah
: 6' 2"; Junior

Gilbert Chung
: 5' 7"; Junior

Max Cohen
: 6' 0"; Junior

Anderson Ju
: 5' 9"; Senior

Kyle McCann
: 6' 1"; Senior

Andreas Whelan-Merediz
: 5' 11"; Freshman