GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Lake Superior State University men's tennis team registered its first victory of the 2017 fall season with a 5-4 non-conference decision over Aquinas this Saturday (Sept. 23) morning at the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central High School Athletic Complex Tennis Courts.
Lake Superior State evened its current overall record to 1-1 on the season as the Lakers claimed wins in two of the three doubles matches and split the six singles flights with the Saints.
The doubles point went to Lake Superior State after wins on court one and three. The Lakers' number one doubles duo of senior Jake Prime and junior Luis Valderrama bested their Aquinas counterparts by an 8-4 score. LSSU clinched the point with freshman Seth Pinnoo and sophomore Joe Gilman's 8-4 victory in the number three doubles flight after senior Ieuan Lister and freshman Diego Penz suffered a 9-8(6) setback on the number two court.
In singles play, Joe Gilman tallied a 6-1, 6-4 victory at the three position while Ieuan Lister came away on a winning note by notching a 6-3, 6-1 triumph. Lake Superior State's other point would occur in number six competition as Seth Pinnoo pulled out a 4-6, 6-2 (7-0) decision.
At the top singles slot, Jake Prime fell 6-3, 7-5 to Aquinas' Chase Peery while Diego Penz did likewise at the fifth position by scores of 7-6(5), 6-4. Luis Valderrama came out on the short end of a competitive three singles flight by dropping a 4-6, 6-1 (8-0) matchup.
"We came out much stronger in doubles today which was a very good sign," said LSSU head coach Luke Ogren. "We still have some work to do especially in tiebreaks, but a win over Aquinas is a huge stepping stone for us since they have always been a strong team. Seth Pinnoo had a great day getting his first wins, including the singles win to close out the victory.
"Overall, we have really made big strides since our first match and will look to keep building toward the conference matches in the spring," added Ogren
The Lakers return to the court this Sunday (Sept. 24) visiting the Adrian (Mich.) Bulldogs in an 11 a.m. (EDT) non-conference match at the Craft Tennis Complex.
