By RYAN QUINN
In their first competitive matches away from Ithaca this season, both the men and women suffered losses in their respective competitions. The No. 62 men’s team (4-2) traveled to Evanston, Il. where it earned a victory over Rice (2-6) before losing to host No. 30 Northwestern (7-2). The women’s team (2-2), competing against Ivy League opponents for the first time this season, was winless on the weekend after losing against both Brown (4-3) and Dartmouth (2-2).
In their first game of the weekend, the men bested Rice, 6-1. Junior Alex Sidney and freshmen Bernardo Casares Rosa and Chris Vrabel all won their doubles and singles matches, while junior Quoc-Daniel Nguyen continued his dominance of the No. 6 singles spot, winning his fifth straight match. Senior captain Sam Fleck also returned from an injury he sustained in the first match of the season to team up with Vrabel. The senior-freshman duo remains the No. 40 pairing in the nation.
“It was a good win against Rice,” Fleck said. “It was a tight match and we fought extremely well on every court against a good team.”
However, in the Red’s game against Northwestern, the script followed a very different narrative. The Red was shut out for the first time this season, including its preseason tournaments. The No. 30 Northwestern Wildcats did not drop a single set against the Red, winning the doubles point as well as the No. 3, 5 and 6 singles matches. Nguyen suffered his first singles defeat of the season and both Sidney and Casares Rosa were trailing when Northwestern clinched the victory. Fleck and Vrabel were also trailing when the doubles point was decided.
“Northwestern was a tough loss,” Fleck said. “We played tentative tennis on the big points, whereas they stayed aggressive and took it to us.”
Connor Archard / Senior Photographer