Men's Tennis Tripped Up at Eastern Kentucky Sunday

RICHMOND, Ky. – Closing out a lengthy, eight-match road stretch that began in late January, the Belmont University men's tennis team was handed a second consecutive 4-2 road setback Sunday at Eastern Kentucky University. Despite victories at two of the top three singles positions, the Bruins (4-8) were unable to pull out three-set wins on courts 4-6.
 
Belmont was forced to play from behind after dropping the all-important doubles point.
 
"Today was a reminder of the growth this team needs to make in dealing with difficult circumstances," commented head coach Jeff Cero after the match. "I thought Esunge (Ndumbe), Charlie (Robin) and Stefan (Vedovelli) did a great job at giving us chances to win the team match, but guys just didn't step up the way we needed them to and the way we know we can."
 
The host Colonels (6-11) won at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles with 6-4 sets, while senior Diego Castro and junior Eli Mizerski's set at No. 3 doubles was halted at 4-5 when EKU clinched the opening point of the match.
 
After Eastern Kentucky took a 2-0 lead with a straight-set win at second singles, junior Esunge Ndumbe came through at the top of the lineup. Overcoming a 6-4 first-set loss, Ndumbe stormed back and won sets two and three in convincing fashion, 6-1, 6-2.
 
Freshman Charlie Robin then evened the match at 2-2 with a hard-fought battle at No. 3 singles. Falling 6-4 in the first set, Robin bounced back with a 6-3 set two win before prevailing in a third-set tiebreaker.
 
With the match coming down to the fourth through sixth positions, Castro and graduate Niklas von Hellens were unable to close out their opponents after winning first sets. At the No. 4 spot, Casto won his opening set in a tiebreaker against the Colonels' Kartik Parhar but was edged 7-5 in the third after a 6-2 second-set loss. Von Hellens at No. 6 singles defeated Eastern Kentucky's Ryan Kitchin 6-3 in set one but was topped 6-4, 6-1 in sets two and three.
 
On court five, sophomore Stefan Vedovelli looked to be on his way to a three-set win against the Colonels' Romeo Navarro when Eastern Kentucky's Kitchin secured the team triumph on court six. Vedovelli led Navarro 4-1 in the third set after taking a second-set tiebreaker.
 
"We've played many away matches and for a young team finding their way, we have to deal with the circumstances better from the beginning of doubles," spoke coach Cero. "It starts with our coaching staff, and we'll be making some changes for sure as a team."
 
Up Next
The Bruins return to match action in the Music City next weekend when Belmont hosts nearby rival Lipscomb Friday afternoon. The home match will be Belmont's outdoor debut of the season at the Beaman Family Tennis Complex on campus. First serve is slated for 4 p.m.
 
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