Saturday, February 10
Philadelphia, Pa.
11:00 AM
Lehigh University
4
at
3
Drexel University
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Stuns Drexel In 4-3 Dual Meet Victory
2/10/2024 5:51:00 PM | Men's Tennis
PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh men's tennis continued their opening month of non-league play on the road on Saturday morning, traveling south to face the Drexel Dragons. The Mountain Hawks pulled out a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Dragons in what was their first win over Drexel since 2016.
"This is a huge win for the program," said head coach Craig Schwartz. "Drexel is always such a well-coached team and it showed again today. I am really proud of the guys with the way they stuck together throughout the match. We will enjoy this tonight and get back to work on Monday."
The Dragons (4-2) started off the morning strong, picking up a quick doubles win at number one over the Lehigh (2-2) pairing of Aristotelis Bezianis and Jackson Morash. However, the Mountain Hawks responded well, earning wins in the next two spots to claim the doubles point. Matt Kleiman and Marc Blekhman earned their first doubles victory of the season via a 6-4 win while Jordan Paul and Sean Jaeger claimed a narrow 7-5 victory.
Drexel struck first in singles competition with a 6-1, 6-0 win for William Burridge over Paul at number four. The match between Bezianis and Drexel's Alessio Azzalini was next to finish, which resulted in a 6-2, 6-2 win for the Lehigh sophomore. At number two, Alex De Soussa pulled out a clutch win for his team over Blekhman courtesy of a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision.
With the team score now sitting at 2-2, only three matches remained to determine the outcome of the match. The next to finish was Kleiman at number one for Lehigh, whose 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory put the Mountain Hawks only one win away from victory. However, Drexel's Josue Guzman picked up a 6-3, 6-4 win at number six to make Jaeger's match against Egor Kirakosov the deciding contest.
After picking up a 6-3 win in the first set, Jaeger dropped the second in a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreak, setting up one final set to decide the dual meet. Jaeger was victorious 6-3, clinching the dual for Lehigh while getting swarmed by his teammates.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action on Wednesday, February 14 to host the FDU Knights. Matches are slated to begin at 6 p.m. from the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center.
Singles
Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Hussein El Tawil (Drexel) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Alex De Soussa (Drexel) def. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Aristotelis Bezianis (Lehigh) def. Alessio Azzalini (Drexel) 6-2, 6-2
William Burridge (Drexel) def. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 6-1, 6-0
Sean Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Egor Kirakosov (Drexel) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Josue Guzman (Drexel) def. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
Jesudason/De Soussa (Drexel) def. Bezianis/Morash (Lehigh) 6-1
Kleiman/Blekhman (Lehigh) def. El Tawil/Humayou (Drexel) 6-4
Paul/Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Kirakosov/Burridge (Drexel) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3), Singles (4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 5)
"This is a huge win for the program," said head coach Craig Schwartz. "Drexel is always such a well-coached team and it showed again today. I am really proud of the guys with the way they stuck together throughout the match. We will enjoy this tonight and get back to work on Monday."
The Dragons (4-2) started off the morning strong, picking up a quick doubles win at number one over the Lehigh (2-2) pairing of Aristotelis Bezianis and Jackson Morash. However, the Mountain Hawks responded well, earning wins in the next two spots to claim the doubles point. Matt Kleiman and Marc Blekhman earned their first doubles victory of the season via a 6-4 win while Jordan Paul and Sean Jaeger claimed a narrow 7-5 victory.
Drexel struck first in singles competition with a 6-1, 6-0 win for William Burridge over Paul at number four. The match between Bezianis and Drexel's Alessio Azzalini was next to finish, which resulted in a 6-2, 6-2 win for the Lehigh sophomore. At number two, Alex De Soussa pulled out a clutch win for his team over Blekhman courtesy of a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision.
With the team score now sitting at 2-2, only three matches remained to determine the outcome of the match. The next to finish was Kleiman at number one for Lehigh, whose 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory put the Mountain Hawks only one win away from victory. However, Drexel's Josue Guzman picked up a 6-3, 6-4 win at number six to make Jaeger's match against Egor Kirakosov the deciding contest.
After picking up a 6-3 win in the first set, Jaeger dropped the second in a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreak, setting up one final set to decide the dual meet. Jaeger was victorious 6-3, clinching the dual for Lehigh while getting swarmed by his teammates.
The moment Sean Jaeger won it for the Mountain Hawks, Lehigh's first win over Drexel since 2016 ‼️#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/h4X6aEnboE
— Lehigh Tennis (@LehighTennis) February 10, 2024
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action on Wednesday, February 14 to host the FDU Knights. Matches are slated to begin at 6 p.m. from the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center.
Singles
Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Hussein El Tawil (Drexel) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Alex De Soussa (Drexel) def. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Aristotelis Bezianis (Lehigh) def. Alessio Azzalini (Drexel) 6-2, 6-2
William Burridge (Drexel) def. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 6-1, 6-0
Sean Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Egor Kirakosov (Drexel) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Josue Guzman (Drexel) def. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
Jesudason/De Soussa (Drexel) def. Bezianis/Morash (Lehigh) 6-1
Kleiman/Blekhman (Lehigh) def. El Tawil/Humayou (Drexel) 6-4
Paul/Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Kirakosov/Burridge (Drexel) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3), Singles (4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 5)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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