Quinnipiac men’s tennis returns to win column with 5-2 win over Merrimack

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. The Quinnipiac men’s tennis team looked to break their two-game skid with a victory over Merrimack on Saturday night, and succeeded. History repeated itself as the Bobcats won the game 5-2 and went undefeated against the Warriors in the second meeting of the program.

Senior Kemal Karagozoglu and junior Shaurya Sood played No. 1 in doubles. The match went back and forth with each team trading wins until the score was tied at 6-6. Sood occupied the back line while Karagozoglu’s six-foot-four frame dominated the front of the net.

My main goal is to always be the big man there, Karagozoglu said. Just attack, be aggressive, use my size and arm length. I just try to dominate and not let the opponents control the game.

Boom, as his teammates call him because of his devastating shot, did exactly what he said. His mountainous presence at net helped earn points for the Bobcats, whether from a high backhand shot or a side lunge return headed in the opposite direction. Boom and Sood won the match 7-6.

Juniors Ayato Arakaki and Donovan Brown, along with sophomore Yasha Laskin and rookie Csanad Nyaradi won their doubles matches 6-4, completing the Bobcats sweep in doubles matchups. Quinnipiac took the doubles point, the first time they have done so all season. New head coach Bryan Adinolfi expressed his satisfaction after winning the important point.

It feels good to win, Adinolfi said. We were going to take some confidence in our doubles game today and hopefully in the next few games we will try to get our doubles confidence back. The double point is important if we are to have a chance of winning the conference.

Arakaki continued his strong showing with a singles point after beating his opponent 6-2, 6-4. The Saitama, Japan native remains in first place for Quinnipiac as he is now 2-2 in singles play this season. His quick but methodical pace on the pitch helped him navigate his way to victory. After losing the first set, Brown came back to win the match in a tiebreaker 10-4. Brown showed in past that he has courage and that he can now add this audacious victory to his CV.

Sood had a tough game in second place. After winning the first set 6-4, he couldn’t put his opponent away in the second, which he normally excels at, and lost 7-5.

It’s usually faster for me because I don’t like to play three sets, Sood said. I have a faster style of play which is all about reaching the net, but that wasn’t working today.

Sood put his blood, sweat and tears into the game, literally. After losing a match, he showed his racquet some tough love and focused despite his joints gushing. Being back on the Quinnipiacs home turf in North Haven and having the team with him all the way helped Sood push to the finish line and take the win with a 10-6 break win. of equality.

I was starting to get tired, but I had my boys behind me so I knew I could do it, Sood said.

Karagozoglu entered, what would be the deciding game for the whole encounter, a tiebreaker. Although he lost the second set and had a tendency to blow one over the back line, he kept his composure in the high pressure situation.

I just try to look at my teammates and smile with them to relax a bit,” Karagozoglu said. I was watching Vir (Sood) and Andreas (Whalen-Merediz) and they helped me relax and get into my groove.

Karagozoglu won the tiebreaker 10-7 for Quinnipiac.

The Bobcats can get a good night’s rest as they stay home until next week’s contest where they host Delaware on Saturday at 6 p.m. in North Haven. A meeting for which Adinolfi has a strong message.

Were just going to keep grinding, Adinolfi said. We were going to practice the same way and give our best shot.