Lopes split pair, await Aggies

Friday, March 8

Sacramento, Calif.

10 A.M.

Grand Canyon

Fresno State

3/8/2019 10:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GCU advances to consolation final vs. New Mexico State

By: Jerob Moon

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The Grand Canyon men's tennis team split the first two matches of the Golden State Invitational in Sacramento on Friday. The Lopes lost to Fresno State 4-2 in the opening round but regrouped and took down host Sacramento State 4-0 to advance to a fifth-place, nonconference matchup with New Mexico State.

Match 1

In the loss to Fresno State, the Lopes jumped to a 1-0 edge by taking the doubles point with strong performances at the top two positions. Valentin Lang and Jakub Novak won 6-2 and Mathieu Rajaonah and Lorenzo Fucile won 6-3 at No. 1 to clinch the point.

"Although we took the loss and had our chances to go through, the guys still have the doubles momentum going," GCU head coach Greg Prudhomme. "Fresno State just battled hard. They competed real well. I felt like our levels were very similar and the match was up for grabs, but their guys just dug a little deeper."

In singles, the Lopes uncharacteristically lost at the top three positions. After Lucas Grego won at No. 4, the Lopes dropped four consecutive matches at Nos. 5, 3, 1 and 2 to give the match to the Bulldogs.

Match 2

After the loss, the Lopes responded with a 4-0 shutout of Sacramento State. GCU also shut out Sacramento State on Jan. 27 at home and improved its record to 4-0 all-time against the Hornets.

"The loss to Fresno didn't sit well with our guys and they did a good job of bouncing back in the consolation round," Prudhomme said. "Although we had already beaten Sacramento State this season at home, we know we were playing them on their home turf and the win today was more convincing on the road. The guys did a good job bouncing back from the loss and making quick work."

Once again, the doubles point was clinched by Lang and Novak at No. 2 and Rajaonah and Fucile at No. 1, with each pair winning 6-2. Grego's and Grant's match was stopped at No. 3 with the pair in control at 5-2.

In singles, the top three positions responded from the earlier loss to clinch the team win. Fucile won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1, Rajaonah won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2, and Lang clinched the win 7-5, 6-3 at No. 3. The remaining matches were left unfinished with the Lopes up on three of the other courts and one match heading to a third set.

Up next

The Lopes will meet conference rival New Mexico State in the consolation final Saturday at 2 p.m. The match will count as a nonconference affair but will give both teams a chance to feel each other out before WAC play begins at the end of the month. The Aggies lost 4-3 to UC Davis in the opening round and then defeated Saint Mary's 4-2.