Men’s Tennis Picks Up First Win of 2011-12 Season

Saturday, February 25

Kenlake - Aurora, Ky.

9 a.m.

Murray State

Western Kentucky

Photo by: Fred Mullane

2/25/2012 3:54:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Results

The Murray State men's tennis team got its first win of the 2011-12 campaign, by defeating Western Kentucky 5-2 at the Kenlake Tennis Center in Aurora, Ky.

“I was very proud of the team today,” said head coach Mel Purcell. “This is the sixth-straight match that we have beaten a very strong Western Kentucky team. When you can win a hard fought match like we did today it gives your team a lot of confidence for the rest of the season, especially the freshman.”

The Racers claimed their first point in hard fought doubles action. Sophomore Arthur Valle and freshman Daniel Heibel were the first to finish and put MSU up early, with an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles over Craig Kirchgessner and Lance Freeman. Junior Tyler Jeffers and freshman Max McLean then fell to J.T. Closi and Andrew Fish (8-5) at No. 2 doubles.

The doubles point came down to No. 3 doubles where it took a tie-breaker to decide. Senior Jose Berardo and red-shirt sophomore Dylan Gerlach pulled out the 9-8 (9-7) win for the Racers, over Patrick De Seroux and Bobby Whitmer.

Freshman Max McLean started MSU's wins in singles play by defeating Arul Selvan, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. Heibel then made the score 3-0 with a hard fought match at No. 3 singles. Heibel defeated Lance Freeman 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3).

Valle secured the win for the Racers with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7) win at No. 1 singles over J.T. Closi. Jeffers gave MSU its final point, with a 7-5, 5-7, 10-6 win at No. 5 singles over Bobby Whitmer.

The Racers will now have another two weeks off before their next match, Tuesday, March 13 against Bethel at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts in Murray, Ky. The match is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and will be the first outdoor match for MSU this season.