The Seattle University men's tennis team opened their weekend in Las Vegas, Nev. with a tough 4-3 loss to Idaho State Friday.
The Redhawks lost the important doubles point to open the match. Mark Shkrebtan (Redmond, Wash.) and Yusuke Kanehira (Tokyo, Japan) were the only SU duo to win in doubles, posting an 8-4 victory over Idaho State's Charles Norman and Andres Coello. Idaho State took the other two doubles matches with matching 8-4 scores, however, to take the doubles point.
The singles matches between the two teams were close, with five of the six matches involving some sort of tiebreak. Shkrebtan earned his second victory of the day-and his second over Norman- by winning a 6-7, 6-2, 1-0(4) at number one singles.
Kevin Lynch (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned a victory at number three singles with a tight matchup that involved three tiebreaks. Lynch took the first set 7-6 after a tiebreak, while opponent Krzysztof Stempien took the second set 6-7 after a tiebreak. The match came down to a match tiebreak at the end which Lynch won, adding another point to Seattle U's coffers.
Jason Bediones (Kent, Wash.) played at number five singles with a three set victory over Austin Miller. Bediones lost the first set 1-6, but took the next two to win the point 6-3, 6-4.
The Redhawks play two matches tomorrow, a 9:00 a.m. showdown with Weber State, and a 3:00 p.m. contest with Western New Mexico.
Idaho State 4, Seattle University 3
Doubles
1. Shkrebtan/Kanehira (SEA) def. Norman/Coello (ISU) 8-4
2. Gross/Buckingham (ISU) def. Lynch/Bediones (SEA) 8-4
3. Stempien/Pate (ISU) def. Tom Plunkett/Meske (SEA) 8-4
Singles
1. Mark Shkrebtan (SEA) def. Charles Norman (ISU) 6-7, 6-2, 1-0(4)
2. Nate Gross (ISU) def. Simon Meske (SEA) 6-1, 6-4
3. Kevin Lynch (SEA) def. Srzysztof Stempien (ISU) 7-6, 6-7, 1-0(3)
4. Dakota Pate (ISU) def. Yusuke Kanehira (SEA) 7-6, 6-1
5. Jason Bediones (SEA) def. Austin Miller (ISU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Andres Coello (ISU) def. Kyle Rapp (SEA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3