INDIANAPOLIS – Following matches against three straight Big Ten opponents to open the season, the IUPUI men’s tennis team took on SIU-Edwardsville on Sunday afternoon and used the lessons gained from playing those schools to defeat Cougars, 5-2.

 

"We played two very tough Big Ten schools in Indiana and Purdue on Saturday, which prepared us for our match against SIU-Edwardsville,” said head coach Brandon Currie. “We have a very young team and this win will definitely help with our team's confidence as we move forward.” 

 

IUPUI swept all three doubles matches beginning with Ivan Mojsejev and Dan Klingenberg winning their No. 1 match. The duo had to go an extra game, but escaped with a 9-7 triumph, while Bren Vasalakis and Joe Hammond also went down to the wire and won, 8-6.

 

In the final doubles match, Joel Modesitt and Nick Volz cruised to a 7-4 win and won by that score after a member of the SIU-Edwardsville duo had to retire due to injury.

 

Volz, who moved into the No. 1 singles slot, lost a tough match to Paulo Gonzalez (6-4, 6-2), but his teammates picked him up to secure the win.

 

IUPUI’s No. 2 through No. 5 players each tallied wins, with two of those coming in three sets.

 

Mojsejev was one of the two players to win in three sets, overcoming a one set to none deficit. Following the first set, Mojsejev settled in and won the second and third sets decisively, 6-2, 6-1.

 

Klingenberg and Modesitt both used straight sets to defeat their opponents, which secured the team victory, but Chase Emerson used three sets in No. 5 singles play to record his first collegiate win.

 

Emerson took the first set, 6-1, but lost a tiebreaker in the second set moving the match onward. From that point, it didn’t take Emerson long to notch his first victory as he broke his opponent’s serve three times en route to a 6-0 third-set win.

 

With the win, IUPUI improved to 1-3 on the season and returns to action on Jan. 28 and 29, when it heads to Milwaukee, Wis., to meet Marquette and Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Jags will take on the Golden Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 28, before meeting the Phoenix on Sunday, Jan. 29.

 

1. Mojsejev/Klingenberg (IUPUI) def. Gonzalez/Reed (SIU-E) - 9-7

2. Vasalakis/Hammond (IUPUI) def. Christensen/Tanulanund (SIU-E) - 8-6

3. Modesitt/Volz (IUPUI) def. Vogt/Chamberlin (SIU-E) - 7-4 (injury/retired)

 

1. Gonzalez (SIU-E) def. Nick Volz (IUPUI) - 6-4, 6-2

2. Ivan Mojsejev (IUPUI) def. Reed (SIU-E) - 3-6, 6-2, 6-1

3. Dan Klingenberg (IUPUI) def. Chamberlin (SIU-E) - 6-3, 6-2

4. Joel Modesitt (IUPUI) def. Ryan Vogt (SIU-E) 6-4, 6-4

5. Chase Emerson (IUPUI) def. Faulkenberg (SIU-E) - 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-0

6. Tanulanund def. Joe Hammond (IUPUI) - 6-4, 6-0