Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Eastern Washington
'Cats Down Eagles for Third-Straight Win
2/26/2011 11:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
OGDEN, Utah -- The Weber State men's tennis team earned its third-straight win on Friday with a 6-1 win over Eastern Washington at the Ogden Athletic Club.
"I'm really pleased with this result today," said WSU head coach Jared Burnham. "This (EWU) is a team that has given us some trouble over the last few years and has really become one of the top teams in the conference. Our guys have built some momentum over the last few matches and today we gutted out some key wins."
Simon Unger, returning to the lineup after a one-match absence, teamed up with Oliver Good for an 8-5 win over Stafan Simikic and Kyle Koetje at the No. 1 doubles spot. That win set up the Wildcats for the doubles point, which came as the two teams split the No. 2 and 3 matches in tiebreakers. Peter Ramstromer Pello and Caio Poitena clinched the point for WSU with a 9-8 win over James Russell and Chris Eriksson.
In singles, Landon Barlow and Oliver Good ripped off straight-set wins at the No. 2 and 6 positions, respectiveley, to put the Wildcats up 3-0 and within one point of clinching the match. Barlow easily handled Mario Navarro at No. 2, winning 6-1, 6-2, while Good battled to a 7-5, 6-3 win over Chad Henninger at No. 6.
Julian Sanchez downed Ramstromer Pello 7-6, 6-3 at No. 3 to earn Eastern Washington its first point of the day. The Eagles then put the pressure on the Wildcats for the clinching point as the final three singles matches went the full three sets, but Weber State came through in each match to produce the final 6-1 margin.
Unger dropped his first set 6-3 to Fernando Mussolini, but WSU's No. 1 player rallied with the final two sets 6-4, 6-2. Dave Hintze also won in three, defeating Koetje 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 5.
Poitena, the reigning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory for the second-straight match, as he rallied from a 6-1 first-set loss to Simikic by winning tiebreakers in both the final two sets (7-6, 7-6).
The Wildcats improved to 3-7 on the season with the win, and moved to 2-1 in Big Sky play. The Eagles fell to 4-5 overall on the season, and to an even 1-1 in league play with the loss.
Feb 25, 2011 at Ogden, UT
(Ogden Athletic Club)
Weber State 6, Eastern Washington 1
1. Simon Unger (WSU) def. MUSSOLINI, Fernando (EWU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. Landon Barlow (WSU) def. NAVARRO, Mario (EWU) 6-1, 6-2
3. SANCHEZ, Julian (EWU) def. P. Ramstromer Pello (WSU) 7-6, 6-3
4. Ciao Poitena (WSU) def. SIMIKIC, Stefan (EWU) 1-6, 7-6, 7-6
5. Dave Hintze (WSU) def. KOETJE, Kyle (EWU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. Oliver Good (WSU) def. HENNINGER, Chad (EWU) 7-5, 6-3
1. Simon Unger/Oliver Good (WSU) def. SIMIKIC, Stefan/KOETJE, Kyle (EWU) 8-5
2. HENNINGER, Chad/SANCHEZ, Julian (EWU) def. Landon Barlow/Dave Hintze (WSU) 9-8
3. P. Ramstromer Pello/Caio Poitena (WSU) def. RUSSELL, James/ERIKSSON, Chris (EWU) 9-8
Eastern Washington 4-5; 1-1 BSC
Weber State 3-7; 2-1 BSC
Players Mentioned
