Firebirds Soar Past Spartans in ECC Battle
WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia men's tennis teamed earned a 6-3 triumph over East Coast Conference foe St. Thomas Aquinas on a beautiful Friday afternoon for the Firebirds' home season finale at UDC Tennis Courts.
The Firebirds (4-8, 2-2 ECC) won two of three doubles matches and four of six singles matches to complete the victory. STAC, which lost its third straight match, fell to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in league play.
The match began with a commanding, 8-0 shutout win by UDC's Noppawat Satprertpry and Ander Murillo at No. 3 doubles. The Firebirds then lost the No. 2 doubles match, but the No. 1 pair of Alexis Baguelin and Diego Pinto earned an 8-3 win to secure a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
Alexis Baguelin was the first to complete a singles win when he defeated Gilberto Lantigua, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 to extend the Firebirds' lead to 3-1. But the Spartans then rallied behind back-to-back three-set singles wins at No. 2 and 3 to force a 3-3 match tie. UDC, however, would respond by winning the final three singles matches to close out the win.
First, Marco Feligioni out-dueled Roger Almato, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 5, Satprertpry cruised past Chris Jonas, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 for the match-clinching point, and Rok Bozic capped the day with a come-from-behind, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Aaron Stahl at No. 1 singles for good measure.
UDC will close out the regular season with a road match at Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, April 23rd.