Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Tennis team closed out the fall portion of its 2022-2023 season with a 6-1 victory over Saint Michael's College on Saturday afternoon at the Riley Family Tennis Courts.
STAC began the afternoon, taking all three doubles matches, as Maximilian Kendler and Odysseas Papioannou took to a 6-3 victory at No. 3 to set the tempo. The team of Ondrej Sramek and Tony Khamassi would clinch the all important point for the Spartans with a 6-3 triumph at the No. 2 position. Tobia Fuerschuss and Don Vinz Lominoque secured the sweep with a 7-5 win at No. 1.
The host Spartans carried that momentum into singles action, as STAC picked up five consecutive victories to take the team win. First, Tobias Fuerschuss would win 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1, followed by Ondrej Sramek earning a hard-fought 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory at No. 2 to make it 3-0. STAC would take the match with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory by Don Vinz Lominoque at the No. 3 position. St. Thomas Aquinas would also pick up victories at No. 5 (Lennart Lehmann - 6-2, 6-3) and No. 4 (Odysseas Papaioannou - 1-6, 6-3, 6-0), before having their shutout broken by the Purple Knights in the No. 6 slot.
Tobias Fuerschuss, Don Vinz Lominoque, Ondrej Sramek and Odysseas Papaioannou all went 2-0 on the day, winning both their doubles and singles matches.
STAC 6/SAINT MICHAEL'S 1 - OFFICIAL RESULTS
Order of Finish: 3, 2*, 1
SINGLES
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*, 5, 4, 6
"St. Michael's College was a handful today", said Head Coach Dan Rockhill. "They played very good doubles and were far more aggressive than we were. We were fortunate to be able to flip the switch and play well when we needed to and come away with the doubles point. That is not normally a winning strategy and we will need to play harder right from the start going forward."
"The Purple Knights were very scrappy and ran down a lot of balls. They often made us have to win points multiple times, seemingly, with their hustle and effort, point in and point out. It was a pleasure to play this match as they demonstrated sportsmanship and play the game the correct way. They gave us exactly what I was hoping they would."
"I was happy for Tobi as he played with composure in the singles after a struggle in the doubles. He kept his opponent off balance using his shot making variety and demonstrated experience in the big points."
"I was also pleased with Ondrej. His opponent made him earn every point and competed until the very last moment. It's a really good sign for us that Ondrej was able to play this match and show maturity in his ability to construct points."
"I think we learned a lot today", remarked Rockhill. "We will need to play all points hard and compete right from the start of every match. "Additionally, we will need to work hard on and off the courts so that no player will surrender when called upon to play. We need every player to compete when they are in the lineup and play for each other."