Triton Men's Tennis wins 4-3 at Grinnell College
Coming into the weekend having won their previous five matches and sitting 5-1 overall this spring, the NJCAA 10th ranked Tritons knew they were ready for NCAA D-IIII #30 ranked Grinnell College on Saturday (3/3) afternoon.
Tied 3-3 going into the final match of the day, Mariano Orsini-Rodriguez won his first set 6-1 over Sam Rudenberg, fell in set two, 5-7, and battled to a 7-5 victory in the third set to seal the victory for the Tritons.
"Our starting lineup has stepped up in important moments this spring when we've needed them in both singles and doubles," said Triton Head Coach, Isaac Pearlstone. "With the size of our team (10 members) we are often outnumbered when we go into environments on the road that are difficult to play in, but the guys band together and still play great tennis."
Along with Orsini-Rodriguez, Joao Teixeira and Djamel Dine picked up wins in singles competition. The teams of Joao Teixeira/Kodjo Charles Alipoe Tchotchodji and Mahefa Anthony Rakotomalala/Mariano Orsini-Rodriguez picked up doubles wins.
"The guys stepped up after a tough loss to start the season. Joao and Charles have only lost one doubles match and many have not lost or only lost one singles match out of our six so far," said Pearlstone. "We have stressed high energy, playing high percentage tennis in big moments, and supporting your teammates."
Up next for the Tritons are matches with Simpson College (3/8) and McHenry County College (3/29) before looking ahead to five matches in April prior to nationals.
Match Results vs. Grinnell College –
Doubles:
#1. Joao Teixeira/Kodjo Charles Alipoe Tchotchodji (IC) defeated Lucas Willett/Aiden Klass (GC) - 6-3
#2. Sam Rudenberg/Wilder Cooke (GC) defeated Djamel Dine/ Alex Martin Tiffon (IC) - 6-2
#3. Mahefa Anthony Rakotomalala/ Mariano Orsini-Rodriguez (IC) defeated Henry Park/Karch Knoll (GC) - 6-4
Singles:
#1. Joao Teixeira (IC) defeated Wilder Cooke (GC) - 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
#2. Lucas Willett (GC) defeated Kodjo Charles Alipoe Tchotchodji (IC) - 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
#3. Djamel Dine (IC) defeated Aiden Klass (GC) - 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
#4. Karch Knoll (GC) defeated Mahefa Anthony Rakotomalala (IC) - 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
#5. Henry Park (GC) defeated Alex Martin Tiffon (IC) - 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
#6. Mariano Orsini-Rodriguez (IC) defeated Sam Rudenberg (GC) - 6-1, 5-7, 7-5