No. 28 Mary Washington Upends No. 27 Stevens in ’14 Opener
Rob Kulish
Box Score
SWARTHMORE, Pa. (February 15, 2014) – The 27th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team was defeated by No. 28 Mary Washington by a score of 6-3 Saturday afternoon in the 2014 opener for the Ducks.
With the loss, Stevens is now 0-1 on the season heading into their official home-opener against Babson College slated for 1 p.m. on February 23. Mary Washington is now 3-0 on the young season.
The day opened with the Ducks falling behind 2-1 after doubles action. At No. 1, sophomore Ben Forman and freshman
Antonio Perch fell 9-8 (5) in a thriller to Tyler Carey and Evan Charles. Stevens' first win of the day came from No. 2 doubles as sophomore
Matthew Heinrich and freshman
Charles Drake earned a convincing 8-4 victory. Mary Washington earned an 8-3 decision at No. 3 doubles.
With second and third doubles complete, the Eagles were able to win the tie break at No. 1 to take the all-important final doubles point and a 2-1 lead into singles action.
Mary Washington won the first singles point of the day at No. 3 to take a 3-1 lead, but Heinrich tallied a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles to pull the Ducks within one at 3-2.
Evans earned a win at No. 2 for UMW with Drake getting the Ducks within one (4-3) on the back of a come-from-behind 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4. Mary Washington sealed the match with a win at fifth singles, taking the sixth flight as well.
The match was the first for four freshmen Stevens starters in
Michael Feldman, Drake, Perch and
Brett Derrington and all four competed strongly against an excellent Mary Washington team. In the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Stevens advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a 5-4 win over the Eagles.