Loyola defeats Blue Mountain Christian to start SSAC Roundup

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's tennis team began a week of three matches at the SSAC Roundup on Thursday. In a solid start to the week, Loyola defeated Blue Mountain Christian 5-2 at the O'Connor Tennis Center. 

It's the fourth win in a row for the Wolf Pack, who improved to 4-2 this season and now 1-0 in SSAC play. Blue Mountain fell to 2-7 with the loss. 

Loyola opened the match with quick doubles wins on court 1 (Sam Izrael and Alfredo Gallegos) and court 2 (Hippolyte de Preville and Patrick Teuteberg), before a longer match on court 3 went to a tiebreak. Martin Ashworth and Jett Nguyen pulled out a 7-5 tiebreak win to complete the doubles sweep.

Every singles match was decided in straight sets, with the Pack winning on the top four courts to secure the team victory. 

Singles competition began with two more wins for the Wolf Pack, as Gallegos (6-3, 6-0) picked up his fourth win of the year at court 3 and Jett Nguyen only dropped one game on court 4 to improve to 4-1 on the year. Blue Mountain, however, got two points on the scoreboard with victories on courts 5 and 6. Not long after, Sam Izrael clinched the match for the Pack with a 6-2, 6-2 victory on court 1.

The final match to finish was on court 2, where de Preville prevailed 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to remain undefeated on the year at 5-0. With the victory Thursday, the senior became Loyola's all-time leader in singles wins, including both fall and spring matches. His overall collegiate record now stands at 32-27, as he passes Ernesto de Diego (2014-18), who had an overall record of 31-36. 

Loyola still has two more matches in Montgomery this week. Next up is Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, which the Wolf Pack will face on Friday at 2 p.m. at Lagoon Park Tennis Complex. 

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Results

(RV) Loyola – 5

Blue Mountain – 2

Doubles
1. Izrael/Gallegos (LOYNO) def. Lainer/Engelbrecht (BMCU) 6-1
2. de Preville/Teuteberg (LOYNO) def. Rogers/Blevins (BMCU) 6-3
3. Ashworth/Nguyen (LOYNO) def. Kotze/Cruz (BMCU) 7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3 

Singles
1. Sam Izrael (LOYNO) def. Adriaan Engelbrecht (BMCU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Hippolyte de Preville (LOYNO) def. Pablo Cruz (BMCU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Alfredo Gallegos (LOYNO) def. Craig Blevins (BMCU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Jett Nguyen (LOYNO) def. Maj Langerholz (BMCU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Kevin Kotze (BMCU) def. Patrick Teuteberg (LOYNO) 6-1, 6-2
6. Luis Lainer (BMCU) def. Martin Ashworth (LOYNO) 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2