GENEVA, N.Y.– The No. 28 ranked Hobart tennis team saw its 12-match win streak come to an end as it was defeated by No. 27 RPI 5-4 in a thrilling Liberty League matchup in Bristol Field House this afternoon. The Statesmen suffer their first conference loss of the season and fall to 12-4 overall with a 5-1 mark in conference play, while the Engineers move to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in the Liberty League.
Hobart and RPI put on a show in doubles action, with the Engineers grabbing an early 2-1 lead after doubles play. Senior Sean Pesin and sophomore Nick Fischer earned their second victory over a ranked opponent this season as they defeated the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the region, Aidan Drover-Mattinen and Andy Zhu 8-7 (10-8) in the No. 1 spot. The duo is now 11-4 on the season and is riding a six-match win streak.
Juniors Troy Steiner and Hyat Oyer fell 8-4 to Joel McCandless and Tsubi Okada in the No. 2 spot, while senior Winter Fagerberg and junior Rahul Vallabhajosula fell to Jonathan McMillan and Bryce Burnham 8-6 in the No. 3 spot.
Hobart and RPI split the points in singles play, with both sides winning three matches each. Pesin continued to impress as he took down the third-ranked singles player in the region, Drover-Mattinen, in the No. 1 spot. Pesin moved to 8-6 in dual matches this season with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win over Drover-Mattinen.
First-year Achilleas Kousaridis extended his win streak to five-straight with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Okada in the No. 3 spot. Kousaridis is now 13-2 in dual matches this season. Oyer earned the final victory for the Statesmen this afternoon as he defeated McCandless 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the No. 5 spot to move to 12-4 on the season.
Fischer fell in a thrilling match in the No. 2 spot to Zhu to help RPI to the win. Zhu defeated Fischer 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3 to earn a crucial point for the Engineers. Tasmay Shah clinched the victory for RPI as he defeated junior Nick Grosso 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 6 spot.
UP NEXT:
Hobart will be back in action on Wednesday, April 17, when it heads to Rochester to take on RIT (5-8) in a Liberty League matchup. First serve is set for 3 p.m. at the RIT Tennis Courts.
