Valparaiso won five of the six singles matches in straight sets and swept through the doubles point on the way to registering the Crusaders’ first victory of the spring season on Saturday afternoon, downing Grace 7-0 at the South Bend Racquet Club in Mishawauka, Ind.

“It was great to see everyone have a solid performance,” head coach Jim Daugherty said.  “We played really well as a team and it is nice to get our first win.  Hopefully we can continue to build on this.”

All nine Crusaders got in on the victory Saturday afternoon.  Valpo started the match with a sweep of doubles as Chris Baum(Charlotte, N.C./Providence H.S.) and Jose Gaspar (Sao Paulo, Brazil/CEAD H.S.) downed Nikola Todorovic and Michael Blevins 8-3 at the top of the lineup.  Carlton Lyons (South Bend, Ind./Clay H.S.) and Michael Woodson (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft H.S.) topped Jonathan Allan and Jack Wang by the same score at third doubles while Adam Whitmer (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview H.S.) and Eric Honert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) added an 8-4 win over Josh Beguin and Aaron Blevins at the second spot.

In singles action, Gaspar started off with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Michael Blevins at the top of the order.  Woodson added a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Allan at the fifth spot before Kyle Stump (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth H.S.) clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Beguin at number four.

Kevin DeHerrera (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield H.S.) posted a number two singles win against Nikola Todorovic 6-4, 6-2 while Siddarth Mehta (South Bend, Ind./Clay H.S.) added a straight sets win against Wang 6-3, 6-2 at the sixth spot.  Whitmer completed the sweep with a come from behind 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 victory over Blevins at number three.

Valparaiso (1-4) will wrap up its busy weekend on Sunday afternoon with a match against Eastern Illinois.  First serve is set for 1 p.m. CST at the South Bend Racquet Club.