In its last home match of the season, Marquette men’s tennis (3-15, 1-3 Big East) sealed its first Big East conference win of the campaign by defeating Villanova (3-13, 0-3 Big East). The victory came amidst a season filled with growth from its youthful roster, with all four first years in the lineup triumphing in singles play.
Combined with a 4-1 victory over Hampton University during the spring break multi-team event in Orlando, the Golden Eagles have generated some positive momentum heading into next week’s matches, riding a two-game winning streak.
The Wildcats started the match by claiming the doubles point and taking the 1-0 early advantage. First-year Cyrus Ahmad won in two sets, 6-4, 6-3, to give Marquette its first point and tie the team score at 1-1. For Ahmad, it’s his ninth win in singles play of the season. He said that playing with consistency and using momentum has been a key for success this season.
“I thought in my match, the opponent was a really good grinder, he definitely was challenging me all throughout the match,” Ahmad said. “I noticed he started to break down as the match progressed, when we got into those long rallies, and I didn’t give balls back. So, I definitely took advantage of that, I played really aggressive on my forehand, thinking a lot of forehand winners whenever I had slow balls (to return).
“I felt like I could’ve held serve a little bit better, it was 50-50 when I held it, had some deuce points. But overall, I thought it was a good match, playing the way, I usually try to play, and got the job done.”
First-year Remi St. Laurent won in two sets as well at No. 4, and junior Blake Roegner pulled away at No. 1 in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, to notch two more points for the Golden Eagles.
First-year TJ Ryerson clinched the match for Marquette at No. 3 singles, his first win at the position and seventh singles victory of the season. The Boca Raton, Florida, native fell in the first set, 5-7, but came back convincingly in the next two, only giving up three games combined across the final two sets, (6-1, 6-2). Ryerson said that a strength to his game is utilizing an aggressive baseline strategy.
“Making shots when I get the short ball, I take it when I can, being aggressive with it, I play deep and don’t miss, and I run for every ball that I can,” Ryerson said.
After Ryerson’s clinch, Hugh Perrill won the No. 5 singles match, 8-4, in a pro-set, while Villanova took the No. 6 singles pro-set for a 5-2 team score.
With the home slate complete for Marquette, the Golden Eagles venture to Nebraska for two matches, taking on Creighton (11-5, 3-1 Big East) Mar. 28, and Nebraska-Omaha (8-8, 2-0 Summit League) Mar. 29.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at michael.severson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU.