Men's Tennis Sweeps No. 75 UC Irvine, 7-0

Blue Demons snap four-match skid, remain undefeated in Lincoln Park

Senior Mathias Hambach was a winner at third singles and first doubles, alongside partner Filip Dzanko, on Saturday.

Feb. 9, 2013

CHICAGO - DePaul men's tennis got off to a fast start, sweeping doubles and never looking back on its way to a 7-0 victory over visiting No. 75 UC Irvine on Saturday at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness.

DePaul moves to 2-4 in dual match play with the win, remaining undefeated (2-0) at home and snapping a four-match losing streak. UC Irvine dropped to 1-7 overall with the loss.

For the Blue Demons, it was their first win over a ranked opponent in almost a year to the day -- the last came on Feb. 10, 2012 in a 6-1 home win against No. 61 Arizona.

During the doubles round, DePaul ran out to an early 1-0 lead behind three straight wins.

At the top spot, junior Filip Dzanko and senior Mathias Hambach survived a tight contest against Ryan Cheung and Caryl Hernandez in a 8-7 (6) tie-breaker.

The freshman tandem of Sten Leusink and Jan-Willem Feilzer followed with an 8-4 win over Shuhei Shibahara and Jonathan Hammel. At third doubles, sophomore Adam Reinhart and freshman Paul John teamed up for an 8-7 victory against Tyler Pham and Jonathan Poon.

The wins didn't stop there, as DePaul proceeded to rack up six singles victories without dropping a set.

Dzanko improved to 6-3 at the top spot with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Cheung. Leusink was next at the two with a 6-4, 6-3 decision against Pham.

At third singles, Hambach prevailed over Reo Asami by a score of 7-5, 6-3. Feilzer followed at the four spot with a dominant first set before closing out his win with a challenging tie-break against Hammel, 6-0, 7-6 (5).

John was a winner for the second straight time at fifth singles, taking down Hernandez by a final ledger of 6-4, 6-3.

Finally, at the sixth position, Reinhart picked up his 12th singles win with a 6-4, 7-5 decision against Shibahara.

The Blue Demons remain at home for a second straight weekend next and will face off with Toledo next Saturday, Feb. 16 at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

DePaul 7, No. 75 UC Irvine 0

Singles

1. Filip Dzanko (D) def. Ryan Cheung (UCI) 6-2, 6-1
2. Sten Leusink (D) def. Tyler Pham (UCI) 6-4, 6-3
3. Mathias Hambach (D) def. Reo Asami (UCI) 7-5, 6-3
4. Jan-Willem Feilzer (D) def. Jonathan Hammel (UCI) 6-0, 7-6 (5)
5. Paul John (D) def. Caryl Hernandez (UCI) 6-4, 6-3
6. Adam Reinhart (D) def. Shuhei Shibahara (UCI) 6-4, 7-5

Doubles

1. Hambach/Dzanko (D) def. Cheung/Hernandez (UCI) 8-7 (6)
2. Leusink/Feilzer (D) def. Shibahara/Hammel (UCI) 8-4
3. John/Reinhart (D) def. Poon/Pham 8-7

DePaul University