Press "Enter" to skip to content

Men’s tennis topples No. 3 Lynn, women forge ahead after dropping three

Photo by: Henoc Kivuye

 

Freshman Josip Smoljan clawed his way past a one-set deficit and a tiebreaker to seal an upset over No. 3 Lynn University, ending Oklahoma Christian University’s long trip to Florida on a high note.

The No. 10 Eagles only dropped one match over spring break, falling just short to No. 4 Barry University, 6-3. The men rolled to identical 8-1 victories over Northwood University and St. Thomas University. After their matchup against Palm Beach Atlantic University was postponed indefinitely, the Eagles edged out Lynn 5-4.

The No. 9 Lady Eagles started off the trip strong, rolling past the Northwood Seahawks 6-3. Junior Barbora Bozkova, sophomore Gabriela Carrillo and freshman Gisela Castany each chalked up straight-set victories in singles. Fighting fatigue from a late flight and an early morning, the Lady Eagles won the No. 1 and 2 positions in doubles play at the beginning of the match.

“When we came to Florida, it was really difficult because we came in Thursday and played our first match Friday,” Bozkova said. “But we had the best conditions, and I think we did a really good job.”

The women faced off against Barry next, but found themselves overwhelmed and fell 5-0; the match stopped after the Buccaneers won five straight and held leads across the board in singles play. The Lady Eagles won no more than three games in any set. Bozkova noted that while the team felt some nerves, they gave it all they had.

“When we went to the match, we all expected that they are playing really, really good and we didn’t have much chance,” Bozkova said. “But I think that almost all the girls tried to do their best…even when we knew that we were going to lose, we tried every single game. We did all we could do; the girls were really nervous, but we tried everything possible. Unfortunately, they were better than us.”

After their postponed match against Palm Beach Atlantic the next day, the Lady Eagles lost in an upset to No. 19 St. Thomas – an NAIA team. Oklahoma Christian’s No. 1 duo of Bozkova and Castany, along with No. 3 pair freshmen Angie Torres Quezada and Rebeca Aguilar Dominguez, lost their tight doubles matches 8-6. The surprises kept on coming, as the Lady Eagles lost at their top two positions in singles and dropped the last match at the No. 6 position.

Before squaring off against NCAA division II powerhouse Lynn, the women had a brief rest – something Bozkova hoped would give Oklahoma Christian a chance to regroup and turn the trip around.

“For us it’s going to be tough,” Bozkova said before the match. “But we’re getting ready because we have our day off today, so we can try and save some energy for Thursday and try to do everything possible to win the match.”

Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, the trip ended in a 9-0 rout. Oklahoma Christian danced just shy of a victory in doubles. Junior Maryfer Abreu Roman and Carrillo fought to a tiebreaker at the No. 2 doubles spot, but fell 9-8. Assistant coach Maxim Salitra acknowledged the annual trip’s shortcomings, but also the women’s tenacity.

“Spring break is always a good lesson for us – for the good or the bad,” Salitra said. “In sports, there’s always room for more; there’s always room to improve more and be more fit. So we can look at the downside, but we’re trying to stay positive and finish the season strong.”

The men started off their trip similar to the women, blasting past Northwood 8-1 following a sweep of the doubles matches. The Eagles stumbled against Barry the following day, however, losing 6-3. Oklahoma Christian’s top doubles duo, senior Martin Poboril and junior Bruno Tiberti, tallied one of the Eagles’ victories in a doubles tiebreaker upset – edging out the division’s No. 2-ranked pair of Marco Mokrzycki and Fabian Groetsch 9-8, (7-5).

“All the guys there are good,” Poboril said. “They’re a good team and a good school, so it was great to compete against these guys.”

Salitra echoed Poboril, adding that the level of competition ratcheted up the tension.

“It started intense from the beginning,” Salitra said. “Everything was provided for us to compete at the highest level, for both teams. Obviously we would like to win and wanted to win, but unfortunately we came a little short.”

After the postponement from Palm Beach Atlantic, the Eagles came roaring back to claim another 8-1 sweep – this time shutting down St. Thomas. The Bobcats’ solo point came from a default as illness forced senior Paulo Roessle to withdraw.

The men took their day off to recuperate before tackling the Barry Fighting Knights and came out Thursday morning swinging. The doubles action resulted in tight matches, and the Eagles emerged with two key victories from their top two doubles positions. No. 3 Roessle and Smoljan couldn’t pull out the match, losing 8-6. As the singles matches progressed, assistant coach Renardy Guelfi attributed the team’s success to their camaraderie.

“All the guys, especially against Lynn, were supporting each other a lot and giving a lot of support,” Guelfi said. “The other teams – they did, but not as much as we did, and I’m sure this also made a difference.”

The Eagles claimed two singles victories, compliments of Tiberti and Pulido. Lynn held the men down to take three points – leaving the match tied at 4-4 and Oklahoma Christian’s fate in the hands of Smoljan, already down a set. Pulido later remarked that Smoljan’s comeback showed the team’s biggest strength.

“Even though he lost the first set, he stepped back and fought for the team,” Pulido said. “I think that’s the important thing – that we all have the backs of each other.”

Smoljan battled to win the second set in a 7-6 tiebreak; once he took hold, he blasted away Barry’s Alessio Iannozzi 6-3 to clinch the victory.

Email this to someonePrint this pageShare on Facebook0Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedIn0

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *