The men’s and women’s tennis teams both had their win streaks snapped on Sunday, with the men dropping a 4-0 match and the women falling 4-1 to visiting Duquesne University.
For the men, the Leopards grabbed the early spark at the top court in doubles play, where freshman Ricky Espaillat and senior Nick McKenzie teamed up for a 6-4 win. The early boost did not hold, though, as Duquesne answered by taking the matches on courts two and three, securing the doubles point heading into singles.
“This was our first real test of competition in about a month,” McKenzie said. “We knew it was going to be a battle, especially since we lost to them last year.”
Espaillat battled at the top singles spot, coming up short 6-3, 6-2. Junior Derrin Lerner kept things tight in both sets but ultimately fell 6-4, 6-3. Looking to avoid the sweep, McKenzie dropped a narrow 7-5 first set before Duquesne closed out the second.
“Since Duquesne is such a strong team, we didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves and just played really loose,” McKenzie said.
The Leopards’ remaining singles matches — featuring senior Jake Magnusson and freshmen John Dickens and Nikolas Martirossian — went unfinished, with all three still mid‑match when the overall team result was decided.
On the women’s side, doubles partners junior Hanna Ganchi and senior Alyssa Perdomo stayed within distance at 5-3, but the match went unfinished as Duquesne clinched the doubles point with wins in the other two bouts.
Ganchi won her opening singles set 6-3, but ultimately fell in the second and tiebreaker sets.
“I won the first set pretty easily and felt like I was playing really well,” Ganchi said. “In the second set, she changed up her game and started playing more aggressively, which threw me off a bit.”
Perdomo earned a win by default, the only Leopard point on the day. In the middle of the lineup, freshman Sophia Pacheco kept pressure on her opponent but came up short 6-2, 6-4. Freshman Sophia Bald competed in the fourth singles spot, with Duquesne taking control and closing out the match in straight sets.
“Overall, I think we did the best we could’ve,” Ganchi said. “They’re a really great team, those girls are really good.”
The tennis programs remain without a permanent head coach following Ralph Van Ormer’s resignation in October and the collapse of a planned hire in January. In the meantime, both teams are being guided by interim head coach Jason Toedter.
“It’s definitely an adjustment, because throughout my whole college career we had Ralph, and he was a steady presence,” McKenzie said. “But something new can be exciting too, and Jason brings a lot to the table.”
In addition to Toedter, the women are also being led by assistant coach Ireland Amato.
“She’s been doing a great job, and it’s really nice to have leadership on the team,” Ganchi said. “We all love Jason, he really seems to care about the program.”
The men will resume competition on March 11 with an away match at Kutztown University. The women will return on March 21, when both teams begin Patriot League play against Army.