Men's tennis splits tough home weekend

Friday, February 21

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Pacific

Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo

2/24/2025 11:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

Lopes bounce back with win over ranked UNLV

By: Braden Dohrmann

Grand Canyon faced injury and sickness conflicts all weekend but managed to end the week on a high with a big win over UNLV on Sunday.

GCU loses 4-0 to Pacific

GCU (6-3) struggled to find any rhythm against Pacific (3-4) on Friday, falling 4-0 in a dual match at GCU Tennis Facility.

The Lopes aimed to continue their strong start to the season but faced a tough Tigers squad that clinched the doubles point and carried that momentum into singles play.

In doubles, Pacific struck first as Christof Schaertlin Coffey and Ran Amar took down GCU sophomores Brice Patoux and Nikita Volonski 6-2 on Court 1. The Lopes had a chance to respond, but Court 3 went to the Tigers as Tiago Silva and Terance Das edged out senior Jonathan Da Silva and graduate Matteo Lugari 7-5, securing the doubles point. The match on Court 2 remained unfinished with GCU's freshman duo of Andreas Loizas and Diordan Macababbad holding a 6-5 lead. Loizas and Macababbad won WAC Doubles Players of the Week a few days prior.

Pacific carried its advantage into singles, where Silva won Court 1 by forfeit to put the Tigers ahead 2-0. The forfeit came with an injury to Loizas, who had been moved to Court 1, with Volonski sitting singles out due to sickness. The Lopes simply could not catch a break.

The visitors extended their lead with a straight-set win from Jonty Giesen over Da Silva (6-3, 6-4) on Court 5, followed by Das securing the clinching point on Court 6 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Macababbad.

Three singles matches went unfinished, including a close battle on Court 2, where Patoux led Justas Trainauskas after splitting sets (6-4, 5-7). Lugari's match against Amar on Court 3 and freshman Finbar McGarvey's contest on Court 4 also were unfinished as Pacific clinched the team win before those could conclude.

GCU beats UNLV 4-2

GCU moved to 7-3 this season by battling back from an early deficit to defeat UNLV 4-2 on Sunday in Phoenix.

The Lopes trailed after doubles play as UNLV (5-5) claimed the doubles point with wins on Courts 1 and 2. The duo of Lugari and McGarvey secured GCU's only doubles victory, taking Court 3 with a 6-4 result over Vitaliy Horovoy and Joel Gibson. However, the Rebels clinched the point with a tight 7-6 win on Court 1 and a 6-4 victory on Court 2. With freshman Andreas Loizas out from Friday's injury, Courts 1 and 2 included two new pairings for the Lopes.

GCU responded in singles play, with Macababbad setting the tone early by dominating Roberto Hernandez 6-4, 6-0 on Court 6. UNLV struck back as Horovoy took Court 4 in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) over McGarvey, giving the Rebels a 2-1 lead.

From there, the Lopes took control. Volonski returned to singles play in a big way, delivering a steady 6-4, 6-4 victory on Court 1 against Illia Maksymchuk to even the score. Da Silva followed with a comeback win on Court 5, overcoming an early setback to defeat Gibson 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 and push GCU ahead 3-2.

The clincher came from Patoux, who rallied to secure a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Dusan Rsovac on Court 2, sealing the 4-2 team victory. Lugari's match on Court 3 was left unfinished.

With another home win under its belt, GCU looks to build momentum as it continues its long home-match stretch with two more matches at GCU Tennis Facility next weekend.