BRONXVILLE, NY – The Iona University men's tennis team concluded its fall campaign Sunday afternoon, falling to Wagner, 6-1, at the Meyer Athletic Center. The Gaels captured the No. 1 doubles match and earned a victory at No. 6 singles, while the Seahawks claimed the doubles point and five singles matches.
DOUBLES
In doubles competition,
Taylor Yarnell and
George Lyons delivered a victory for the Gaels at the No. 1 position, defeating Eddie Schmidt and Nicola Bottelberghs. Wagner secured the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and No. 3. Tyler Nguyen and Lukas Escher defeated
Leo Hsu and
Yusen Sato at No. 2, while Vibhu Challagundla and Joshua Zhao topped
Roko Kacer and
Mark Taviloglu at No. 3.
The Gaels battled throughout singles play, with three matches extending to deciding super tiebreakers.
SINGLES
At No. 1 singles,
Brandon Ramos put together a strong comeback against Escher. After dropping the opening set, 6-2, Ramos responded with a 6-3 second-set victory to force a deciding super tiebreaker. Escher ultimately secured the match, 10-6.
Yarnell also took the opening set at No. 2 singles, defeating Schmidt, 6-2. Schmidt answered with a 6-4 second-set victory before edging Yarnell, 10-6, in the deciding super tiebreaker.
At No. 3, Kacer pushed Bottelberghs to the limit in another three-set battle. Bottelberghs claimed the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, before Kacer responded with a dominant 6-2 second set. Bottelberghs ultimately prevailed in the deciding super tiebreaker, 11-9.
Wagner added another point at No. 4, where Zhao defeated Lyons, 6-3, 6-1.
At No. 5, Sato battled back after dropping the opening set, 7-5, to Challagundla. Sato evened the match with a 6-4 second-set victory, but Challagundla secured the deciding super tiebreaker, 10-8.
Iona earned its lone singles victory at No. 6, where Taviloglu was awarded the match by default against Nguyen.
The matchup marked the conclusion of the Gaels' fall schedule. Iona will now turn its attention toward the spring season as it looks to build on its fall experience.
UP NEXT
Iona opens its competitive spring season on Sunday, Jan. 31, with a 10 a.m. matchup on the road against NJIT.
