Sunday, March 12
Orlando, Fla.
3:00 PM
Lehigh University
4
vs
3
IUPUI
Lehigh Rallies For 4-3 Victory Over IUPUI to Open Spring Break Trip
3/12/2023 6:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ORLANDO – In the first match of its spring break trip to Florida, Lehigh rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat IUPUI 4-3 Sunday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks erased a 3-1 deficit by winning three-set matches at Nos., 5, 6 and 1 singles. Senior Matt Kleiman rallied from a set down to post the clinching victory at the top singles flight as Lehigh improves to 6-5 on the season.
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IUPUI (4-13) claimed the doubles point with wins at the second and third flights by identical 6-4 scores. Lehigh's top team of senior Jeremy Learner and junior Jordan Paul were trailing 5-4 when doubles ended.
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A win at No. 4 singles put the Jaguars up 2-0 before sophomore Marc Blekhman put Lehigh on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kamil Kozerski at No. 3.
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Four of the six singles matches were decided in three sets. IUPUI's Tom Ciszewski gave the Jaguars a 3-1 lead with a three-set win over Learner at No. 2.
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First-year Jackson Morash started the comeback at No. 5, battling from a set down to defeat Blessing Benibo 6-3, 6-2 in the next two sets to bring Lehigh within 3-2. Classmate Aristotelis Bezianis came back after dropping the second set to Eli Mercer 6-4 to win convincingly in the decisive third set by a 6-1 margin, tying the team score at 3-3.
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Kleiman dropped his first set in a tiebreak 7-4 against Alex Jochim but came back strong, dropping just five games in the next two sets. He won the second set 6-3 and then tookthe deciding set by a 6-2 margin to clinch the win for the Brown and White.
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Lehigh will close out its Florida trip on Tuesday with a 9 a.m. match against James Madison.
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Lehigh 4, IUPUI 3
Doubles
1. Learner/Paul (Lehigh) vs. Jochim/Ciszewski (IUPUI) 4-5, DNF
2. Benibo/Morehart (IUPUI) def. Blekhman/Jaeger (Lehigh) 6-4
3. Moody/Kozerski (IUPUI) def. Kleiman/Bukhalo (Lehigh) 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1 DNF
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Singles
1. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Alex Jochim (IUPUI) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2
2. Tom Ciszewski (IUPUI) def. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
3. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Kamil Kozerski (IUPUI) 6-4, 6-3
4. Colton Morehart (IUPUI) def. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 6-3, 6-1
5. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) def. Blessing Benibo (IUPUI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Aristotelis Bezianis (Lehigh) def. Eli Mercer (IUPUI) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 3, 2, 5, 6, 1
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IUPUI (4-13) claimed the doubles point with wins at the second and third flights by identical 6-4 scores. Lehigh's top team of senior Jeremy Learner and junior Jordan Paul were trailing 5-4 when doubles ended.
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A win at No. 4 singles put the Jaguars up 2-0 before sophomore Marc Blekhman put Lehigh on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kamil Kozerski at No. 3.
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Four of the six singles matches were decided in three sets. IUPUI's Tom Ciszewski gave the Jaguars a 3-1 lead with a three-set win over Learner at No. 2.
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First-year Jackson Morash started the comeback at No. 5, battling from a set down to defeat Blessing Benibo 6-3, 6-2 in the next two sets to bring Lehigh within 3-2. Classmate Aristotelis Bezianis came back after dropping the second set to Eli Mercer 6-4 to win convincingly in the decisive third set by a 6-1 margin, tying the team score at 3-3.
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Kleiman dropped his first set in a tiebreak 7-4 against Alex Jochim but came back strong, dropping just five games in the next two sets. He won the second set 6-3 and then tookthe deciding set by a 6-2 margin to clinch the win for the Brown and White.
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Lehigh will close out its Florida trip on Tuesday with a 9 a.m. match against James Madison.
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Lehigh 4, IUPUI 3
Doubles
1. Learner/Paul (Lehigh) vs. Jochim/Ciszewski (IUPUI) 4-5, DNF
2. Benibo/Morehart (IUPUI) def. Blekhman/Jaeger (Lehigh) 6-4
3. Moody/Kozerski (IUPUI) def. Kleiman/Bukhalo (Lehigh) 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1 DNF
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Singles
1. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Alex Jochim (IUPUI) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2
2. Tom Ciszewski (IUPUI) def. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
3. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Kamil Kozerski (IUPUI) 6-4, 6-3
4. Colton Morehart (IUPUI) def. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 6-3, 6-1
5. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) def. Blessing Benibo (IUPUI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Aristotelis Bezianis (Lehigh) def. Eli Mercer (IUPUI) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 3, 2, 5, 6, 1
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Players Mentioned
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