INDIANAPOLIS - The
Trine University men's tennis team came home from a double
header match on February 18 and 19 with two wins. The Thunder
defeated Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday 5-4 and
Franklin College on Sunday 7-2. The Thunder are 2-0 to start the
season.
Trine started the Saturday's match down 2-1
after the second doubles team of Zach Richardson (Muncie,
Ind./Delta) and Trevor Derby (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble)
fell 8-6 and the third doubles team of Nick Ihrie (Kendallville,
Ind./East Noble) and David Murray (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook)
fell 8-4. Dan Desper (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) and Joe Dunbar
(Carmel, Ind./Blessed Theodore Guerin) gave the Thunder their only
doubles win, as they took their first doubles match 8-5.
The Thunder needed to win four out of the six
singles matches to take home the win against Rose-Hulman and they
did just that. Desper won at second singles 6-4, 6-4 while at third
singles, Murray played a tight match and won 7-5, 7-5. Ihrie then
handled the sixth singles match 6-0, 6-4. Dunbar lost at first
singles 3-6, 4-6 and Derby dropped the fifth singles match 1-6,
5-7.
The deciding match came in the fourth singles.
Freshman Joey Clark (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis) battled back in his
first college match after losing the first set 1-6 to win the next
two sets 6-2, 7-5.
On Sunday, the Thunder defeated Franklin
College in all six singles matches to go up early 6-0. Dunbar won a
hard fought first singles match 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Desper
took care of second singles by winning 6-3 in the first set and
then winning a second set tie-breaker 7-3. Murray won at third
singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Clark earned his second
straight three set victory as he won the fourth singles match 0-6,
7-5, 6-3. Derby defeated Franklin College's fifth singles player
7-5, 6-3 and Ihrie won a long match at sixth singles 6-3, 4-6,
6-1.
The doubles matches did not go in favor of Trine
as Franklin won two out of the three matches. Desper and Dunbar
lost 8-5 at first doubles and Richardson and Derby lost a long
match at second doubles 9-7. The third doubles team of Murray and
Ihrie picked up a victory by winning 8-2.
Trine will open their home schedule as they host
Taylor University on April 25th at 11:00 a.m.
