Princeton University
Loyola Marymount
Men's Tennis Earns Big Win at Loyola Marymount, 4-3
March 19, 2005 | Men's Tennis
March 19, 2005
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Despite playing singles first due to the threat of rain, it was the doubles matchups that proved to be the deciding factor in giving Princeton a 4-3 win over Loyola Marymount in men's tennis Saturday.
The Tigers could be nationally ranked this week after defeating then-No. 53 Purdue earlier in the week in San Diego.
Darius Craton and Sratha Saengsuwarn won in straight sets at Nos. 1 and 2 to give Princeton the early 2-0 lead. But shortly after that, Linas Cicenas put LMU on the board with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Hans Plukas at No. 3 singles.
Next off the court were hard-fought but straight set wins for Matt Phillips and Ashton Politanoff at No. 5 and No. 6 to give the Lions a 3-2 lead.
The final singles point came down to Princeton's Andrew Lieu against LMU's Beau Berglund at No. 4. Lieu won a highly-contested match 6-4, 7-6 to tie the score at 3-3.
Since the weather held, the teams then played doubles to decide the match. The Tigers dominated at No. 1 with Plukas and Lieu and at No. 3 with Craton and Ted Mabrey to earn the doubles point and clinch the match.
Princeton hosts Rutgers Saturday.
PRINCETON 4, LMU 3
Singles #1 Darius Craton def. Mike Wojnarowicz (LMU) in straight sets #2 Sratha Saengsuwarn def. Nico Terrien (LMU) in straight sets #3 Linas Cicenas (LMU) def. Hans Plukas 7-5, 6-1 #4 Andrew Lieu def. Beau Berglund (LMU) - 6-4, 7-6 #5 Matt Phillips (LMU) def. David Gopstein - 6-3, 7-6 #6 Ashton Politanoff (LMU) def. Ashwat Sarohia in straight sets Doubles #1 Plukas/Lieu def. Wojnarowicz/Phillips (LMU)8-4 #2 Saengsuwarn/Sarohia def. Berglund/Malet (LMU) 9-8 #3 Craton/Ted Mabrey def. Politanoff/Cicenas (LMU) - 8-4