SeattleU Men?s Tennis Shows Potential in 5-2 Loss to UC Irvine

Facing one of the top college teams in the West, the Seattle University men's tennis team picked up a couple of victories and was competitive in other matches, but UC Irvine came away with the 5-2 victory Thursday night at the Sammamish Club.

In the number two singles slot, Mark Shkretbtan (Redmond, Wash.) continued his solid play, earning a three-set victory over Shimpei Suzuki by winning the third set tiebreaker, 7-3, after each player won a set by the same 6-1 score. Andrew Tran earned SeattleU's second victory of the night in the number six singles position, defeating Jon Kazarian in straight sets (7-6 [7-3], 6-3).

The Anteaters won the majority of the singles matches, starting with Steven Henderson, who won the number three singles match over Simon Meske (Tacoma, Wash.) in straight sets (6-3, 6-1). Fabian Matthews took the number one singles match over Alex Montgomery (Seattle, Wash.), also in straight sets (6-3, 6-2), and Stephen Stege clinched the team victory for UC Irvine with a straight-set win over Adam Strizich (Helena, Mont.) in the number four singles position (6-4, 6-0). Khunpol Issara also picked up a straight-set singles victory over Patrick Boorkman (Bellevue, Wash.) in the number five position (7-5, 6-2).

UC Irvine (1-0) started the evening by sweeping the doubles sets to earn the first point. Issara and Henderson defeated Shkretbtan and Meske in the number one position, 8-2, while Kazarian and Suzuki earned an 8-4 victory over Montgomery and Tran at the number two spot and Matthews and Stege were victorious over Boorkman and Strizich in the number three position, 8-4.

Seattle University (0-2) will have a couple of weeks to prepare for the first road trip of the season, which takes the team to Oregon Feb. 5-7 to face Willamette (Feb. 5, 1 p.m.), Pacific (Feb. 6, 9 a.m.), Lewis and Clark College (Feb. 6, 1 p.m.), Idaho (Feb. 7, 9 a.m.), and Oregon (Feb. 7, 3 p.m.). The Redhawks third and final home match of the season comes against Pacific Lutheran Friday, March 19, at the Sammamish Club in Issaquah beginning at 6 p.m.

University of California, Irvine at Seattle University

Thursday, January 21, 2010 - Sammamish Club - Issaquah, Wash.

Singles

1. Fabian Matthews (UCI) def. Alex Montgomery (SU): 6-3, 6-2
2. Mark Shkretbtan (SU) def. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI): 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3)
3. Steven Henderson (UCI) def. Simon Meske (SU): 6-3, 6-1
4. Stephen Stege (UCI) def. Adam Strizich (SU): 6-4, 6-0
5. Khunpol Issara (UCI) def. Patrick Boorkman (SU): 7-5, 6-2
6. Andrew Tran (SU) def. Jon Kazarian (UCI): 7-6 (7-3), 6-2

Doubles

1. Issara/Henderson (UCI) def. Shkretbtan/Meske (SU): 8-2
2. Kazarian/Suzuki (UCI) def. Montgomery/Tran (SU): 8-4
3. Matthews/Stege (UCI) def. Boorkman/Strizich (SU): 8-4

UC Irvine 5, Seattle University 2