SPORTS EDITOR
The Demon Deacon men's tennis squad tucked three more out-of-conference feathers into its cap this past weekend, dealing losses to James Madison and West Virginia in Winston-Salem Saturday, and felling Furman in South Carolina Sunday.
In sum, the wins moved the Deacons' spring dual meet record to an unblemished 7-0 heading into a road match with South Carolina Feb. 27.
The Deacons started the weekend in style, blanking JMU 7-0 and surrendering only one set to their guests.
Head Coach Jeff Zinn's squad jumped out to a fast start in the match thanks largely to strong production from its doubles squads. The Deacon team of freshman Kunal Premnarayan and junior Daniel Merkert downed its JMU opponent 8-3, and teammates freshman Michael Berger and sophomore Brian Nelson dropped their foe by an identical score.
Deacon juniors Charles King and Scott Sink chipped in a 9-7 win in the final doubles match to give the Deacons a quick 3-0 lead in the match.
Things were not much rosier for JMU in singles competition, where the Deacon draw proved unsolvable. Only Merkert at the No. 1 spot dropped a set in singles play, and he was able to put opponent Cullen de Windt away in the decisive set 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The remaining five Deacon singles participants took their matches in straight sets, led by sophomore Billy Gluck at the No. 2 position. Gluck notched a 6-4, 6-0 win over opponent Peter Faigl, and Berger, freshman Andres Guzman, junior Jimmy Chou, and junior Ziehn all took their singles matches to close out the match.
The Deacons were not finished Saturday, however, as the team took to the hardcourt again to face the Mountaineers. Though the team had a tougher time in its encore, the Deacons ultimately prevailed with a 5-2 win.
The home team got off to a rocky start, dropping two of three doubles matches to spot the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead in the contest.
The Deacons responded in singles play, however, garnering four victories to gain the necessary margin of victory. Although Gluck fell at No. 1, Berger toughed out a three set win at No. 2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, and Chou followed at No. 3 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over West Virginia's Ben Jacobs.
Ziehn, Premnarayan, and senior Charles Einwick combined to clinch the match for the Deacons with wins at Nos. 4, 5, and 6, respectively. Ziehn and Premnarayan went the extra mile for their wins, putting down their opponents in three set battles.
"I thought all the matches were competitive. It took a lot out of me on Saturday," Berger said. "I felt I was in good condition."
Sunday the Deacons took a road trip to Greenville, S.C. for a match with Furman. The visiting team received a stiffer challenge from the Paladins than they had faced in either of the previous day's matches, but were able to grab a 4-3 victory nonetheless.
Furman grabbed the doubles point by winning two of three afternoon pairs matches. Ziehn and Berger were the only bright spot for the Deacons in doubles play, grabbing an 8-3 win at the No. 2 doubles positions.
Berger noted that doubles play is currently the team's major concern.
"The only weakness I see is the doubles play. We lost the doubles point in two of our matches this weekend," Berger said.
The freshman added that some of the team's doubles problems may be due to the continued absense of senior Josh Osswald, who is currently working his way back from a shoulder injury.
"We are missing one of our top doubles players in Josh Osswald. If we can get him back, our doubles will be that much stronger," Berger said.
The Deacons rallied in singles play, however, with four wins in six individual matches. The visiting team's only singles setbacks took place at the No. 1 and No. 6 positions. Merkert fell to Paladin Sam Schroerlucke in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 1, while Ziehn fell 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6.
The remainder of the Deacon singles draw combined to pull out the win, as Gluck, Berger, Guzman and Chou all came up with wins in their singles matches.
The team's weekend has Berger feeling quite optimistic about the upcoming ACC season.
"I think that, barring any more injuries, our team looks very good," Berger said. "We have a very deep team."