Lopes fall in WAC semis to No. 2 ACU

Friday, April 28

Arlington, Texas

10 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Abilene Christian

Photo by: Taylor Hansen

4/28/2023 2:23:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Season comes to end for youthful GCU squad

By: Jerob Moon

ARLINGTON, Texas – The third-seeded Grand Canyon men's tennis team lost in the WAC Tournament semifinals to No. 2 Abilene Christian on Friday afternoon.

The Lopes (7-14) fell behind early in doubles but continued to fight late into singles and were up on two courts late before the Wildcats (14-10) clinched the win to end head coach Derek Siddiqui's first GCU season.

Abilene Christian (14-10) jumped ahead with a 1-0 lead by clinching the doubles point. The Wildcats won 6-2 at Court 1 over GCU freshmen William Alsterback and David Wekesa before clinching the point at Court 3, winning 6-3 over GCU junior Wyatt Anderson and sophomore Jonathan Da Silva. The No. 2 court was left unfinished as sophomore Martim Marujo and junior Loic Van Zeggalaar were tied at 4-4.

In singles, the Wildcats extended their lead with a quick 6-2, 6-2 win over Alsterback at the bottom court, but the Lopes responded with a 6-3, 6-4 win by Wekesa at Court 4. The GCU freshman was able to get his first postseason win of his career after his first-round tournament match on Court 4 was left unfinished Thursday against New Mexico State.

The Wildcats controlled the top of the singles lineup as they clinched the dual-match win. Da Silva, at the No. 1 position, battled in his second set after losing in the first before falling 6-3, 7-5. The team win was clinched at Court 2 as Marujo won his first set 6-4 but lost the next two, 6-1, 6-2.

When the match was called, the Lopes were still battling on two other courts. GCU freshman Alfred Almasi had just won his second set 6-2 to force a third set on Court 3 and freshman Paolo Rosati nearly took his match at Court 5, winning 7-6 and then leading 4-3.