Lopes cruise past Cougars

Sunday, March 31

Las Cruces, N.M.

8 A.M.

Grand Canyon

Chicago State

3/31/2019 12:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

GCU gets 3rd win in 3 days

By: Jerob Moon

The Grand Canyon men's tennis team finished the weekend strong with a 6-1 win over Chicago State (3-16, 0-3 WAC) on Sunday in Las Cruces, N.M. The win puts the Lopes (14-5, 3-0 WAC) in first place after the first conference cluster of the season.

It was the sixth win in a row for GCU, with five of those wins coming by scores of either 6-1 or 7-0.

"The guys finished the weekend exactly the way we wanted to," Lopes head coach Greg Prudhomme said. "They had good momentum going from our first two days of WAC play and finished the job 3-0. We were certainly the favorites going into the match today, but the guys did a great job staying sharp and focused."

In doubles, the Lopes took all three matches. The team of senior Lucas Grego and sophomore Freddie Grant and the team of senior Mathieu Rajaonah and junior Lorenzo Fucile each won 6-1 to take the team point. Junior Valentin Lang's and freshman Jakub Novak's winning streak as a doubles team reached double digits with a 6-3 win at No. 2.

"They played really good doubles, probably the best doubles the guys played all weekend," Prudhomme said. "And the guys carried that momentum into singles getting on top early and staying in front all the way through. Only dropped one set on court four. Lucas did a good job battling back to a third set."

In singles, the bottom of the lineup provided the early momentum that carried the Lopes to a win. Grant took the first win at No. 5, winning 6-1, 6-0 and Novak won at No. 6 7-5, 6-0 to extend the lead to 3-0.

Fucile clinched the team win for the second day in a row, winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1. Rajaonah and Lang finished the match with two straight singles wins.

The Lopes will be back in action Tuesday for Senior Day against Delaware at noon at GCU Tennis Facility.