Men’s Tennis: No.57 Men’s Tennis Downs Nicholls State, 6-1

Contact: Jeff Schneider
 
A day after receiving its first ranking in five years, the 57th ranked Ragin’ Cajuns men’s tennis team picked up a 6-1 victory over in-state rival Nicholls State on Wednesday afternoon at Cajun Courts.
 
“Even though we won today, I was disappointed with the way we played,” head coach Mark Jeffrey said. “We should have had a 7-0 result. We let a team like Nicholls State hang around when we need to put those teams away. We need to fix this going forward if we want to be a top 35 team nationally.”
 
Louisiana (8-5) went in front 1-0 after wins by doubles teams Brandon Farine/Yanick Mandl and Damian Farinola/Jarred Wynan.
 
The Cajuns carried the momentum over into singles play as Rick DeGroot picked up a win at No.1 over Shayann Vaezzadeh, 6-2, 6-2.
 
Senior Yanick Mandl moved UL one point closer to the victory at No.3 singles defeating Dmitry Kozionov in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
 
After dropping the No.2 singles match, UL clinched the contest with Ted Nilsson’s impressive 6-2, 6-0 win over Palash Tiwari at No.4.
 
“I was impressed with the play of Damian Farinola and Jarred Wynan in doubles clinching the point,” Jeffrey said. “I also thought Rick, Ted and Yanick fought well in their matches, but overall we have some work to do.”
 
The Cajuns continue their five-game homestand on Friday at 2:30 p.m. when they host UT-Pan American at Cajun Courts.
 
#57 Louisiana 6, Nicholls State 1
 
 Singles competition
1. DeGroot, Rick (UL) def. Shayann Vaezzadeh (NICH) 6-2, 6-2
2. Damjan Despotovski (NICH) def. Murray, Carlin (UL) 6-2, 6-3
3. Mandl, Yanick (UL) def. Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
4. Nilsson, Ted (UL) def. Palash Tiwari (NICH) 6-2, 6-0
5. Farinola, Damian (UL) def. Roy Knight (NICH), by default
6. Wynan, Jarred (UL) def. Sidharth Sivakumar (NICH), by default
 
 Doubles competition
1. Farine, Brandon/Mandl, Yanick (UL) def. Sidharth Sivakumar/Palash Tiwari (NICH) 8-0
2. Shayann Vaezzadeh/Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) def. DeGroot, Rick/Murray, Carlin (UL) 8-7
3. Wynan, Jarred/Farinola, Damian (UL) def. Damjan Despotovski/Roy Knight (NICH) 8-4
 
Match Notes:
Nicholls State 5-4
Louisiana 8-5; National ranking #57
 

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