Sunday, February 4
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
5
vs
2
Villanova University
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Picks Up 5-2 Win Over Villanova In Home Opener
2/4/2024 6:10:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After dropping their opening dual of the season on the road at Penn State, Lehigh men's tennis returned to the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center for their first home meet of 2024. The Mountain Hawks hosted the Villanova Wildcats on Sunday afternoon, defeating their Keystone state rival by a score of 5-2.
"It was a great bounce-back win for the guys today against a tough Villanova squad," said head coach Craig Schwartz. "We really competed well as a team and it showed in the result."
Lehigh (1-1) and Villanova (1-2) met last season in Bethlehem, resulting in a tightly-contested 4-3 victory for the Mountain Hawks. This time around the Mountain Hawks took care of business early, clinching the dual meet win by earning the first four points of the afternoon.
Lehigh's first point was earned during doubles play after three hard-fought matches to start the afternoon. The Wildcats struck first by picking up a 6-4 win at number one over the pairing of Matt Kleiman and Marc Blekhman. Jackson Morash, who was paired with Aristotelis Bezianis on Saturday against Penn State, now joined forces with sophomore Wyeth Anzilotti at number three. The two earned a 6-4 win over Villanova's Eitan Khromchenko and Cooper Gordon, setting up a clinching match at number two.
Sean Jaeger and Jordan Paul earned a doubles victory together against Penn State on Saturday, and the pair picked up right where the left off the following day. The Mountain Hawks earned the dual's first point via a 6-4 decision for Jaeger and Paul to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.
After earning the doubles point, it wouldn't take long for Lehigh to clinch the dual meet win. The first singles point of the day went to the Mountain Hawks thanks to dominant 6-0, 6-2 win for Blekhman over Villanova's Ryan Nguyen. The next Mountain Hawk to finish was Paul, who earned a 6-2, 7-5 win to set the score at 3-0.
Jaeger laced up his shoes at the number four spot, facing Lukas Choi of Villanova with a chance to clinch the dual for his team. His match went to a third and final set, but Jaeger came up clutch with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 to seal the dual meet win for Lehigh.
Following the clinching match, Villanova would claim wins at number five over Morash and number six over Anzilotti. A narrow 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 victory for Matt Kleiman was sandwiched in between, setting the final score at 5-2 in favor of Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action at the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center on Wednesday to host the Monmouth Hawks. The dual is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
"The guys can enjoy this win today, but we'll be right back to work tomorrow," said Schwartz. "We need to focus our attention on a very tough Monmouth team on Wednesday."
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Singles
Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Joshua Robinson (Villanova) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) 6-0, 6-2
Jordan Paul (Lehigh) def. William Monahan (Villanova) 6-2, 7-5
Sean Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Lukas Choi (Villanova) 6-0, 5-7, 6-4
Thomas Wakefield (Villanova) def. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) 8-4
Eitan Khromchenko (Villanova) def. Wyeth Anzilotti (Lehigh) 8-0
Doubles
Robinson/Wakefield (Villanova) def. Kleiman/Blekhman (Lehigh) 6-4
Jaeger/Paul (Lehigh) def. Monahan/Choi (Villanova) 6-4
Morash/Anzilotti (Lehigh) def. Khromchenko/Gordon (Villanova) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2), Singles (2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 6)
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"It was a great bounce-back win for the guys today against a tough Villanova squad," said head coach Craig Schwartz. "We really competed well as a team and it showed in the result."
Lehigh (1-1) and Villanova (1-2) met last season in Bethlehem, resulting in a tightly-contested 4-3 victory for the Mountain Hawks. This time around the Mountain Hawks took care of business early, clinching the dual meet win by earning the first four points of the afternoon.
Lehigh's first point was earned during doubles play after three hard-fought matches to start the afternoon. The Wildcats struck first by picking up a 6-4 win at number one over the pairing of Matt Kleiman and Marc Blekhman. Jackson Morash, who was paired with Aristotelis Bezianis on Saturday against Penn State, now joined forces with sophomore Wyeth Anzilotti at number three. The two earned a 6-4 win over Villanova's Eitan Khromchenko and Cooper Gordon, setting up a clinching match at number two.
Sean Jaeger and Jordan Paul earned a doubles victory together against Penn State on Saturday, and the pair picked up right where the left off the following day. The Mountain Hawks earned the dual's first point via a 6-4 decision for Jaeger and Paul to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.
After earning the doubles point, it wouldn't take long for Lehigh to clinch the dual meet win. The first singles point of the day went to the Mountain Hawks thanks to dominant 6-0, 6-2 win for Blekhman over Villanova's Ryan Nguyen. The next Mountain Hawk to finish was Paul, who earned a 6-2, 7-5 win to set the score at 3-0.
Jaeger laced up his shoes at the number four spot, facing Lukas Choi of Villanova with a chance to clinch the dual for his team. His match went to a third and final set, but Jaeger came up clutch with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 to seal the dual meet win for Lehigh.
Following the clinching match, Villanova would claim wins at number five over Morash and number six over Anzilotti. A narrow 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 victory for Matt Kleiman was sandwiched in between, setting the final score at 5-2 in favor of Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action at the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center on Wednesday to host the Monmouth Hawks. The dual is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
"The guys can enjoy this win today, but we'll be right back to work tomorrow," said Schwartz. "We need to focus our attention on a very tough Monmouth team on Wednesday."
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Singles
Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Joshua Robinson (Villanova) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) 6-0, 6-2
Jordan Paul (Lehigh) def. William Monahan (Villanova) 6-2, 7-5
Sean Jaeger (Lehigh) def. Lukas Choi (Villanova) 6-0, 5-7, 6-4
Thomas Wakefield (Villanova) def. Jackson Morash (Lehigh) 8-4
Eitan Khromchenko (Villanova) def. Wyeth Anzilotti (Lehigh) 8-0
Doubles
Robinson/Wakefield (Villanova) def. Kleiman/Blekhman (Lehigh) 6-4
Jaeger/Paul (Lehigh) def. Monahan/Choi (Villanova) 6-4
Morash/Anzilotti (Lehigh) def. Khromchenko/Gordon (Villanova) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2), Singles (2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 6)
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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