With diving returns and serves over 100 mph, Quinnipiac men’s and women’s tennis swept the Hofstra Pride 7-0 in the Recreation Center on Feb. 14.
On the men’s doubles side, Quinnipiac sophomore Brian Mikkelson and freshman James Kwei won in a tie-breaker. In a tie-breaker, the teams play first to seven points. Going in tied at eight games apiece, Quinnipiac turned it up in the tie-breaker, winning 7-3. Senior co-captain Tom Curran and freshman Garrett Lane also edged out a tie-break victory for the Bobcats. They won the tie-breaker 8-6. The two doubles victories earned the men a point, going into the singles matches.
“We just played two very formidable teams,” head coach Mike Quitko said. “Doubles is something that comes together as the season goes on, and we find exactly who should be with whom.”
Quinnipiac junior John Hughes played number one for the men in singles. He took care of business, defeating Hofstra’s number one 6-2, 6-2. Sophomore Brian Mikkelson may have played the match of his life against Hofstra’s Stian Tvedt, winning a thrilling, three-set match in a tie breaker (6-2, 3-6, 7-6).
“I had a lot of momentum in the first set. Second set, he started playing a lot better, and then in the third set, I just grinded it out.” Mikkelson, who dealt with leg cramps on and off throughout the match, said. “I had to change my strategy a little bit, to try and shorten up the points.”
Playing through the cramps, Mikkelson made a diving return on a ball that looked to be out of reach in the middle of the match. The return caught Tvedt out of place, forcing a miss-hit, giving Mikkelson the point.
Mikkelson’s gutsy performance clinched the victory for the men, earning the team their fourth point. Lane, Kwei, Charlie Feldman, and Tom Curran all won their singles matches as well, giving the men the 7-0 shutout.
For the women, the end result was the same, but they did not have nearly as much trouble as the men did. Quinnipiac junior Mary Wilson and sophomore Adrienne Markison teamed up in doubles to defeat Hofstra’s best pairing, 8-1. Sophomore Lisanne Steinert and freshman Natalie Duckor followed suit, also knocking off Hofstra, 8-1.
Hofstra only brought five women’s players up to Quinnipiac, so they had to forfeit a doubles match and a singles match.
However, the Bobcats did not need those two forfeit victories. They won all five singles matches they played as well as both of their doubles matches. Mary Wilson played number one for the Bobcats, defeating Hofstra’s Lauren Clifton, 6-0, 6-2.
“Hofstra’s a pretty good team, we played them last year and it was kind of close,” Wilson said. “This is good for us to come out and beat them 7-0.”
Markison, Duckor, Steinert, and senior Kasey Rosenberger won their matches easily as well for the Bobcats. Playing number six for the team, senior captain Nicole Adams won by default.
“It should be better competition against BU, they’re a tougher school,” Duckor said. “If we play like we did today, I think we have a good chance of beating BU.”
The men were able to defeat the Boston University Terriers 5-2, while the women were shutout 7-0 at the Track and Tennis Center at Boston University on Feb. 15.
Hughes, Mikkelson, Lane and Feldman won their singles matches, earning four points for the Bobcats. Hughes and Feldman teamed up to win a doubles match, and Lane and Curran also paired up to win their doubles match. The two wins clinched the Bobcats’ fifth and final point of the day.
The Bobcats improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Terrriers drop to 1-6. The Bobcats will host the Bryant Bulldogs this Sunday at 3 p.m.
The women were outmatched by the Terriers, losing every match except for one doubles match.
Quinnipiac’s Wilson and Markison played together to beat the Terriers’ number one pairing 8-3. The Bobcats lost the other two doubles matches, so the lone doubles point went to the Terriers. The Terriers won each of the six singles matches without dropping a set, to secure the shutout.
The Bobcats now stand at 2-2, while the Terriers improved to 5-1. The Bobcats travel to Providence R.I. to face Brown this Saturday.
