The New York University men's tennis team, currently ranked #35 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), defeated Southern Virginia University 5-4 in a thriller on Saturday, March 7, in the Bronx, NY.
With the Senior and Family Day victory, the Violets picked up their first win of the season and improved to 1-2, while the Knights stand at 6-3.
In doubles play, the Violets managed to secure one win as Vishal Walia (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) and Lucas Biondi (Purchase, NY/Rye Country Day School) won the #3 match 8-3.
Moving into singles play, the Violets won some critical matches. After losing the #1 and #2 matches, NYU's only chance of winning the contest was by securing three straight victories. Junior Rahul Das (Marietta, GA/George Walton Comprehensive) started the rally, winning the #3 match 6-4, 6-4. Vishal Walia (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) followed that up in the #4 match with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win. Lucas Biondi (Purchase, NY/Rye Country Day School) carried the momentum into the #5 match, defeating his opponent 6-4, 6-2. After that, the stage was set for Senior Captain Joshua Piatos (Irvine, CA/University) to secure the match-winning victory in the #5 contest. After winning the first-set 6-1, Piatos eked out a 7-5 win in the second-set, capturing the victory for the Violets in dramatic fashion.
"It was a great win for the team in our last home match," said Head Coach Horace Choy. "We were down 4-2, but rallied to win the last three matches. I'm proud of the entire team and how hard they competed."
The Violets return to action on Friday, March 13, when they face #40 College of New Jersey at 3:00 PM in Ewing, NJ.
Match Results
Doubles
#1 Kukutla Motlojoa/Daniel Blonquist (SVU) defeated Rahul Das (Marietta, GA/George Walton Comprehensive)/Zeb Zheng (Charlotte, NC/Concordia International School Shanghai) (NYU) 8-3
#2 Marcos Dias/Paul Monson (SVU) defeated Stefan Rodic (Belgrade, Serbia/Washington International School (Washington D.C.))/Alex Yang (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor Plainsboro ) (NYU) 8-4
#3 Vishal Walia (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens)/Lucas Biondi (Purchase, NY/Rye Country Day School) (NYU) defeated Ben Spencer/Ethan Sherwood (SVU) 8-3
Singles
#1 Marcos Dias (SVU) defeated Alex Yang (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor Plainsboro ) (NYU) 6-2, 6-2
#2 Daniel Blonquist (SVU) defeated Stefan Rodic (Belgrade, Serbia/Washington International School (Washington D.C.)) (NYU) 6-3, 6-1
#3 Rahul Das (Marietta, GA/George Walton Comprehensive) (NYU) defeated Tanner Bassett (SVU) 6-4, 6-4
#4 Vishal Walia (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) (NYU) defeated Kukutla Motlojoa (SVU) 6-3, 7-6(4)
#5 Lucas Biondi (Purchase, NY/Rye Country Day School) (NYU) def. Ethan Sherwood (SVU) 6-4, 6-2
#6 Joshua Piatos (Irvine, CA/University) (NYU) defeated Ben Spencer (SVU) 6-1, 7-5
