ABILENE – Abilene Christian overcame injury, illness and a lost doubles point to knock off Tyler Junior College, 6-1, on Friday.
Mihaly Deli and
Merse Deli got ACU's lone doubles win at No. 3, 6-1.
Ethan Scribner and
Benjamin McDonald made the jump to No. 1 doubles and
Dario Kmet and
Dennis Dutine played as partners for the first time.
"We had to shuffle some things around," said ACU Head Coach Juan Nunez of the doubles situation. "Ben and Ethan belong on that court but maybe thought about it too much. It was Dennis' first time playing doubles and he handled himself well but he also may have been thinking too much about it on the key points.
"And then Mihaly and Merse have worked out well. You never know with brothers. They've handled it great. Their energy has been great. The way they've been performing is awesome to see."
Kmet and
Cesar Barranquero stepped up to familiar roles at 1 and 2 singles with
Daniel Morozov out for the day. Both won quickly with Kmet going 6-1, 6-0 and Barranquero 6-2, 6-0.
"Not having Danny is obviously big, but the fact that you can lose somebody like that and then you have somebody right behind him, like DK and Cesar; all of a sudden, you still have a one and two that you can count on," Nunez said.
Merse Deli gave ACU a 3-1 lead with a straight-set win at No. 4 and Dutine clinched the match at No. 6.
McDonald won a tough match at No. 5 and
Mihaly Deli made it a complete singles sweep with a three-set win at No. 3.
"Merse continues to step up as a freshman and Mihaly just showed his experience and how good he is for us when he's healthy. Ben isn't at 100 percent but he battled through it. It was good to see Dennis get comfortable and win convincingly like that. Just really proud of the guys."
ACU gets back on the courts Saturday, hosting Trinity at 4 p.m.
Abilene Christian 6, Tyler JC 1
Singles competition
1.
Dario Kmet (ACU) def. Juan Carlos Garcia (TJC) 6-1, 6-0
2.
Cesar Barranquero (ACU) def. Alex Despoja (TJC) 6-2, 6-0
3.
Mihaly Deli (ACU) def. Samar Al Tori (TJC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
4.
Merse Deli (ACU) def. Faiz Nasyam (TJC) 6-3, 6-4
5.
Benjamin McDonald (ACU) def. Doni Gashi (TJC) 7-5, 6-4
6.
Dennis Dutine (ACU) def. Jacopo Cianfarini (TJC) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Alex Despoja/Juan Carlos Garcia (TJC) def.
Ethan Scribner/
Benjamin McDonald (ACU) 6-3
2. Doni Gashi/Samar Al Tori (TJC) def.
Dario Kmet/
Dennis Dutine (ACU) 6-3
3.
Mihaly Deli/
Merse Deli (ACU) def. Calvin Golmei/Matthew Browning (TJC) 6-1
