University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Quinnipiac
Huskies Close Spring Trip by Beating Quinnipiac, 4-3
3/14/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
BRADENTON, Fla. - The UConn men's tennis team closed out their spring break trip to Florida on Wednesday with a 4-3 win over state rival Quinnipiac at the IMG Academy. The Huskies snap a seven-match losing streak with the win as they head back north for the stretch run of the regular season.
"I'm so proud of the team today we have lost so many close matches this season but came out on top today," commented associate head coach Reinaldo Valor. "The group of guys on this team have a lot of heart. The guys have kept giving me max effort and today was a great team win. All of us knew we are so close to turning around our season but we needed a big breakthrough."
After dropping the opening doubles point, the Huskies bounced back in singles play, winning four of the six matches with three going to three sets. UConn's Jack McLister (Leesburg, Va.) got the match even, winning his 13th on the year by beating Kyle Alper, 6-2 and 6-3.
Quinnipiac won at the No. 1 and No. 4 spots to take a 3-1 lead in the match. The Huskies needed to win the final three matches and came through starting with senior Jonathan Edwards (Isle of Palm, S.C.) who won his second-straight match on the trip, beating Hielke Moore at No. 6 in three sets. After falling in the first, 6-3, he bounced back to win convincingly, 6-1 and 6-2 to improve to a team-best 13-7 on the season.
Junior Hank Hill (Durham, N.C.) evened the match at 3-3 with a win at No. 2, needing three sets to take down Patrick Cachapero. He rebounded from losing the first set 6-2 to win 7-6 and 6-3.
Freshman John Michael Holtmann (Coral Gables, Fla.) clinched the win for the Huskies, finishing his week a perfect 3-0 in singles play with a big three-set win. Holtmann and Quinnipiac's Austin Yannone went toe-to-toe at No. 5 with the UConn rookie coming out on top, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5. Holtmann was down 5-2 in the third set but came roaring back for his 11th singles victory on the year. Holtmann also improved to 6-2 in dual matches.
UConn's lone doubles win came from sophomore Brady Flanagan (Overland Park, Kans.) and freshman Yili Zheng (Shanghai, China) who beat Axel Stern and Austin Yannone at No. 2, 7-5.
The Huskies will be back on the court on Sunday, March 18 when they head to Brown University.
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Players Mentioned
