ABILENE – Abilene Christian men's tennis improved to 10-3 on the spring following a weekend sweep of three matches this weekend in Colorado Springs. The Wildcats started their road trip with a 7-0 win over Pueblo before gutting out two additional victories over Air Force (4-3) and Montana (5-2).
Key to today's win over the Grizzlies was the performance of doubles teams new and old. The veteran Sheehy brothers at the No. 1 line came back from a pair of three-point deficits to top Alex Canellopoulos and Ed Pudney, 7-6, while freshmen Dimitris Azoides and Riley Tran won by the same score in their debut together at the No. 3 line over Max Korkh and Oisin Shaffrey.
In between, the Wildcat tandem of Sebastian Langdon and Jackson Fine edged brothers Ludvig and Pontius Hallgren, 6-4, at the No. 2 line in improving to 3-1 on the spring.
ACU soon built its lead to 3-0 following singles wins at No. 1 and 2 from Jonathan and Josh Sheehy. Jon, who has won his last nine matches after starting the year 0-4, toppled Ludvig Hallgren at No. 1, 6-2, 6-1, and older brother Josh dispatched Korkh at No. 2, 6-4, 6-2.
This was ACU's first match of the spring in which Josh played at No. 2 behind his younger brother; however, Jon has won two previous matches this year as ACU's No. 1.
The clinching point was a bit tougher to earn, but Azoides pushed his individual win streak to five with a 6-3, 7-6 triumph at No. 3 over Pudney, and newcomer Akinori Wada bested Milo Benn in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 for ACU's fifth point.
The Sheehys and Azoides were clutch all weekend and together they won a combined eight singles matches, including three late Friday in the 4-3 win at Air Force.
Josh and John both won 7-6 (5) in the third set at the top two lines vs. Falcons Patrick Sklenka and Luke Sanderson, while Azoides made quick work of Robert Baylon, 6-2, 6-1. ACU additionally won the doubles point with Josh and Tran topping Sklenka and Tadhg Collins, 6-4, and Jonathan teaming up with Cole Lawson to defeat Isaac Perez and Baylon, 6-2.
Tran is 3-0 with Josh Sheehy this spring and 7-1 overall as a doubles competitor.
Abilene Christian 7, Colorado St.-Pueblo 0
Feb 08, 2019 at Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Singles competition
1. Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Daniel Garcia (CSUP) 6-2, 6-2
2. Dimitris Azoides (ACU) def. Edward Cooper (CSUP) 6-4, 6-3
3. Riley Tran (ACU) def. Ogulcan Deniz (CSUP) 6-1, 6-2
4. Sebastian Langdon (ACU) def. James Ryan (CSUP) 6-4, 6-1
5. Joaquin Delgado (ACU) def. Richard Garcia (CSUP) 6-4, 6-1
6. Akinori Wada (ACU) def. Cade Boedeker (CSUP) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Josh Sheehy/Riley Tran (ACU) def. Edward Cooper/Daniel Garcia (CSUP) 6-2
2. Jonathan Sheehy/Cole Lawson (ACU) def. Cade Boedeker/Richard Garcia (CSUP) 6-4
3. Sebastian Langdon/Jackson Fine (ACU) def. James Ryan/Ogulcan Deniz (CSUP) 6-2
Match Notes
Abilene Christian 8-3
Colorado St.-Pueblo 0-3
Abilene Christian 4, Air Force 3
Feb 08, 2019 at Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Singles competition
1. Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. Patrick Sklenka (USAFA) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5)
2. Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Luke Sanderson (USAFA) 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Paul Hendrix (USAFA) def. Riley Tran (ACU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. Dimitris Azoides (ACU) def. Robert Baylon (USAFA) 6-2, 6-1
5. Tadhg Collins (USAFA) def. Joaquin Delgado (ACU) 6-4, 6-3
6. James Scotty (USAFA) def. Sebastian Langdon (ACU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Josh Sheehy/Riley Tran (ACU) def. Patrick Sklenka/Tadhg Collins (USAFA) 6-4
2. Jonathan Sheehy/Cole Lawson (ACU) def. Isaac Perez/Robert Baylon (USAFA) 6-2
3. Paul Hendrix/Jamie Bautista (USAFA) def. Sebastian Langdon/Jackson Fine (ACU) 6-2
Match Notes
Abilene Christian 9-3
Air Force 5-4
Abilene Christian 5, Montana 2
Feb 09, 2019 at Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force Academy)
Singles competition
1. Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Ludvig Hallgren (UM), 6-2, 6-1
2. Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. Max Korkh (UM) 6-4, 6-2
3. Dimitris Azoides (ACU) def. Ed Pudney (UM) 6-3, 7-6 (2)
4. Oisin Shaffrey (UM) def. Riley Tran (ACU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Milo Benn (UM) def. Joaquin Delgado (ACU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Akinori Wada (ACU) def. Finn Anderson (UM) 3-6, 6-3, 11-9
Doubles competition
1. Josh Sheehy/Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Alex Canellopoulos/Ed Pudney (UM) 7-6 (5)
2. Sebastian Langdon/Jackson Fine (ACU) def. Ludvig Hallgren/Pontius Hallgren (UM) 6-4
3. Dimitris Azoides /Riley Tran (ACU) def. Max Korkh/Oisin Shaffrey (UM) 7-6 (5)
Match Notes
Abilene Christian 10-3
Montana 3-2
