University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
DePaul
Gophers Take Two 7-0 Victories in Opener
1/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The No. 23-ranked University of Minnesota Gophers start 2016 with two dual match victories topping both DePaul and South Dakota State 7-0.
The Gophers continued their home dominance after not dropping a match at the Baseline Tennis Center all of last season.
"I enjoyed watching them play. It is different with practice versus a pressure situation in dual match play," Coach Geoff Young said. "We are a young team with a lot of freshman. We can reflect on today and it will help us get better for next weekend"
Minnesota started the day strong in doubles play against DePaul. Justyn Levin and Josip Krstanovic finished the first match of the day up 6-1 over DePaul's Jan-Willem Feilzer/Paul John. Ruben Weber and Marino Alpeza followed close behind defeating Alex Galoustian/Conor O'Meara 6-1. The No. 20 ranked doubles pair of Felix Corwin and Matic Spec did not finish but were up 5-1.
The Gophers remained undefeated in singles play, with Alpeza finishing first against Ivan Dvkovic (6-0, 6-1) to improve to 5-4 in singles play on the season. Levin and Corwin also finished in two sets winning (6-4, 6-0) and (6-4, 6-2), consecutively to secure the victory.
Krstanovic won his first collegiate victory against Nathan De Veer in a tiebreaker (6-0, 7-6 (7)). Spec won his third consecutive match this season, defeating Galoustain (6-3, 0-6, 6-1).
Weber, No. 95 in the nation, won a closely fought match against Kyle Johnson (6-1, 3-6, 7-5) long after everybody else was off the court for the afternoon. After the battle, Weber is now 8-3 on the season.
Later in the afternoon the Gophers stayed hot taking the doubles point over SDSU. Corwin paired up with Levin to take a 6-0 victory over Emerson Styles and Mateaus Moreira. Alpeza teamed up with fellow freshman Jesse Sprinkel to take a 6-1 win that secured the doubles point. Spec and Krstanovic teamed up and were leading 3-2 but their match went unfinished.
Corwin, No. 105 in the nation, picked up the first win of the match in singles with a (6-2, 6-2) win over Henrique Pereira in the No. 1 spot. He moves to 7-2 in singles on the season. Alpeza finished his day with four overall wins after taking the win at the No. 5 spot (6-3, 6-2) over Lucas Pereria. Spec took care of business to secure the victory with a (6-2, 6-1) win in the No. 2 spot to move his win singles win streak to four while bumping his record to 5-2 overall.
Jeremy Lynn topped Chuck Tang (6-4, 6-4) in the number six spot in his first action of the spring.
Both Krstanovic and Levin had their matches go into three sets. Krstanovic dropped his first set 7-5 to Styles but bounced back with a 6-2 win and won a tiebreak set 10-6.
Next week Minnesota will take head to the ITA Kickoff competing against some of the top teams in the nation. They play Columbia at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23 and depending on the outcomes will play either Stanford or Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 24.
Don't forget to follow the team on social media @GopherMTennis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news, features, pictures and videos.
First Match: No. 23 Minnesota 7, DePaul 0
Singles competiton
1. Matic Spec (MINN) def. Alex Galoustian (DP) 6-3, 0-6, 6-1
2. Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Sten Leusink (DP) 6-4, 6-2
3. Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Kyle Johnson (DP) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
4. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) def. Nathan De Veer (DP) 6-0, 7-6 (7)
5. Justyn Levin (MINN) def. Paul John (DP) 6-4, 6-0
6. Marino Alpeza (MINN) def. Ivan Divkovic (DP) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Matic Spec/Felix Corwin (MINN) vs. Kyle Johnson/Sten Leusink (DP) 5-1, unfinished
2. Ruben Weber/Marino Alpeza (MINN) def. Alex Galoustian/Conor O'Meara (DP), 6-1
3. Justyn Levin/Josip Krstanovic (MINN) def. Jan-Willem Feilzer/Paul John (DP), 6-1
Order of finish
Doubles (3,2); Singles (6, 5, 2, 4, 1, 3)
No. 23 Minnesota 7, South Dakota State 0
Singles competition
1. Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Henrique Pereira (SDSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Matic Spec (MINN) def. Lovro Curjica (SDSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) def. Emerson Styles (SDSU) 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (6)
4. Justyn Levin (MINN) def. Mateaus Moreira (SDSU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
5. Marino Alpeza (MINN) def. Lucas Pereria (SDSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Jeremy Lynn (MINN) def. Chuck Tang (SDSU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Felix Corwin/Justyn Levin (MINN) def. Emerson Styles/Mateaus Moreira (SDSU),
6-0
2. Matic Spec/Josip Krstanovic (MINN) vs. Lucas Pereria/Chuck Tang (SDSU), 3-2, unfinished
3. Marino Alpeza/Jesse Sprinkel (MINN) def. Lovro Curjica/Jonny Highgam (SDSU), 6-1
Order of finish
Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,5,2,6,3,4)
Players Mentioned
