The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team completed a perfect week in Florida on Sunday by breezing past Liberty 6-1 and trouncing Fairleigh Dickinson 6-1 on the final day of competition in the Sunshine State. The Crusaders have now won 13 straight matches and stand at 14-1 overall.

How It Happened – Liberty

• The first match of the day was completed after a weather delay of approximately one hour in length. The Crusaders got off to a fast start by sweeping their way to the doubles point against the Flames (4-7).
• Jeffrey Schorsch and Dave Bacalla were victorious at No. 1 doubles in the first match to finish. They topped Alex Poynter and Diego Castano 6-2.
• Charlie Emhardt and Chad Kissell got the best of Eddie Gutierrez and Vince Salas 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
• Valpo’s No. 3 doubles team of Kyle Dunn and Brandon Ancona held a 5-3 lead over Chase Burton and Max Borcuti. The match went unfinished.
• Schorsch returned to the singles lineup after sitting out Friday against Duquesne. He downed Gutierrez 6-1, 6-3.
• Bacalla nailed down a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Castano at No. 4.
• The Crusaders sewed up the match win when Garrett Gardner completed a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Poynter.
• Brian Pecyna won his match over Max Borcuti 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6.
• After escaping with a 7-6(7-5) win in the first set, Kissell pulled away for a 6-3 win in Set 2 at No. 2 singles.
• The only Flames point came at No. 3 singles. Emhardt started strong with a 6-0 Set 1 win over Salas, but Salas battled back with 6-4, 6-2 wins in Sets 2 and 3 to wrestle the match away from Emhardt.

How It Happened – Fairleigh Dickinson

• In the evening match, the Crusaders bested the Knights (3-5) in convincing fashion despite holding their top four players out of singles competition.
• Dunn got the nod at No. 1 and defeated Gonzalo Quintana in a tight first set 7-6(1) before pulling away for a 6-2 win in Set 2.
• Another tight first set came at No. 5 singles, as Pecyna won 7-6 (8-6) over Adam Chan in the first set before capturing a 6-2 victory in the second to make it a straight sets triumph.
• Ancona played No. 2 and downed Danilo Vukotic 6-3, 6-2.
• The Crusaders picked up three-set wins at No. 3 and No. 6. Gardner dispatched Pedro Carvalho 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 3, while Franklin Brozovich rallied for a 5-7, 6-3, 10-2 win over Salomon Koster at No. 6.
• The only Fairleigh Dickinson team point came at No. 4 singles as Langston succumbed to Diogo Garnel 6-4, 7-6(2).
• Emhardt and Schorsch reunited at No. 1 doubles and didn’t skip a beat, topping Chan and Vukotic 6-1.
• Kissell and Bacalla played together at No. 2 and made sure the Crusaders nailed down the doubles point with a 6-1 win over Garnel and Carvalho.
• Daniel Langston and Pecyna lost at No. 3 doubles, 6-3 to Miki Nobuzawa and Quintana.

Inside the Match

• Dunn’s win allowed him to move into a tie with Emhardt for second in program history with 83 career singles wins. Schorsch is the all-time leader with 101 career singles victories.
• Dunn also extended his team lead in singles wins by virtue of the victory. He stands at 18-6 this season. Dunn improved to 2-1 when playing the top singles spot and moved to 9-1 in his last 10 matches.
• Schorsch’s victory over Liberty extended his winning streak to 11 matches. He’s still unblemished in dual competition.
• Schorsch wasn’t the only Crusader to keep a winning streak intact. Ancona has now won eight straight singles matches, while Gardner and Pecyna both notched their sixth straight win.
• Emhardt and Kissell are now 5-0 as a doubles pair, while Schorsch and Bacalla hold a 4-0 mark. Emhardt and Schorsch upped their record to 16-6 and have now won five straight together.
• Ancona’s win was his first when playing as high as No. 2. 

Next Up

The Crusaders return to the Midwest and have some time away from match action before returning to the court on Saturday, March 25 at Youngstown State. The Crusaders stand at 1-0 in Horizon League play after winning the league lidlifter over UIC last month. The match with the Penguins is slated to begin at 2 p.m. Central Time.