BALTIMORE – Sparked by seniors Melker Svard and Eliott Loubatie, the UMBC men's tennis team defeated George Mason, 5-2, at the UMBC Tennis Complex on March 30.
After the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles teams split 6-2 decisions, Svard and Loubatie were locked in a tight battle with the Patriots' No. 1 duo of Joe Hill/James Lange. But the Retriever veterans pulled out the match, 7-6, to give the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Loubatie carried the momentum into singles, as he breezed in the first set and won a 6-0, 7-5 decision over Tanner Baine. Svard once again met up with Hill and the results were similar as UMBC's No. 2 singles player edged his rival, 7-6, 7-6.
Senior Alex Drean and junior Biyik Akinshemoyin (Reservoir) also earned singles points for UMBC. Drean dropped his first set, but triumphed, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, over Lange at No. 4 singles, while Akinshemoyin marked his return from injury to defeat Guiliano Buzoiano, 6-3, 6-2.
UMBC snapped a four-match slide and improved to 5-12 on the campaign, while Mason slipped to 7-10.
The Retrievers host Morgan State on Friday, April 1 at 1 p.m.
Doubles
1.-Melker Svard/Eliott Loubatie, UMBC def. Hill/Lange, GM, 7-6
2.-Justin Carter/Alex Drean, UMBC def. Baine/Capitel, GM, 6-2
3.- Buzoiano/Gutierrez def. Biyik Akinshemoyin/Kevin Hsieh, UMBC, 6-2
Singles
- Capitel def. Carter, 6-4, 6-2
- Svard def. Hill, 7-6, 7-6
- Loubatie def. Baine, 6-0, 7-5
- Drean def. Lange, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Gutierrez def. Hsieh, 6-2, 6-1
- Akinshemoyin def. Buzoiano, 6-3, 6-2
