FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Men's tennis earned a 5-2 road win over Saint Francis on Tuesday, improving to a 4-0 start in Crossroads League play in the process. The Maple Leafs claimed the doubles point and then added wins at #1, #2, #3 and #6 singles to finish off the match.
Iago Ciucio and
Garrett Stoltzfus delivered a 6-3 win at #1 doubles, and
Paulo Santiago and
Filippo Gallo matched that score at #3 doubles. The #2 doubles pairing of Mahmut Emre Gurmeric and
Timo Novak were tied 4-4 with their opponents, but the match was unfinished as Goshen had already won the team point.
The Leafs then built separation in singles with a series of straight-set performances. Ciucio won at #1 singles 6-2, 6-3. Novak followed with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at #2, and Stoltzfus added another decisive result at #3 with a 6-3, 6-1 win. Santiago supplied the Maple Leafs' fourth singles point at #6 - credited with a 6-2, 2-0 win. Ciucio, Stoltzfus and Santiago each had wins in both singles and doubles.
Goshen improved to 9-6 with the win and Saint Francis fell to 6-4. The Maple Leafs have won 16 straight matches over Saint Francis dating back to 2010. GC has outscored the Cougars 118-12 in that span. Ciucio and Stoltzfus as well as Santiago and Gallo have all won five straight doubles matches. Stoltzfus and Novak have each won four straight singles matches and Santiago has three straight. Goshen is 10-1 in Crossroads League doubles matchups this spring and 17-7 in singles play.
The women are at Saint Francis on Wednesday at 2:00 pm - the match will be played at the Wildwood Racquet Club. Thursday is the Stan King Tennis Complex Ribbon-Cutting at 3:30 pm. All are invited to attend this public event as a celebration of the rebuilt tennis complex and naming it in honor of Stan King '61. There will be a special program with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the courts. Afterwards, there will be refreshments and a tennis intersquad scrimmage for all to enjoy.
Then on Saturday, the tennis teams will face off against Spring Arbor at 1:30 pm. The matches have been moved indoors to the Wildwood Racquet Club in Fort Wayne due to incoming weather.
