TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 2-ranked UIndy men's tennis squad took a victory against one of the best NAIA programs in the Keiser Seahawks on Sunday. The match ended up being one of endurance, with the battle between the Greyhounds and Seahawks taking a staggering five hours and 20 minutes, making for one of the longest matches of the season for the 11-2 Hounds.
 
INS AND OUTS
The marathon match kicked off with Edgar Destouet and Tom Zeuch setting the tone out of the No. 1 double slot. The No. 1 pair in the country won 6-3, but the lead did not hold with the Seahawks winning both the No. 2 and No. 3 matches, both being tight battles.
 
Zeuch and Destouet continued to set the energy of the match in singles. Zeuch, out of the No. 2 slot was the first Hounds to claim victory, evening the score with a6-3, 6-2 straight sets win. Destouet just minutes later did the same, via two 6-3 sets.
 
With the lead escaping, the Seahawks fought through a trudge of a No. 3 singles match, winning the second and third set to make it 2-2. Nikolaj Talimaa put up a gem of a match out of the No. 3 slot, breaking out of his slump to give the Hounds the lead once again.
 
It came down to the No. 5 and 6 matches. Facing the No. 16 ranked player in NAIA, August Ehrnrooth battled after a tough first set to make it three-all. His fellow newcomer Thomas Mathis was right there, however, with perhaps the biggest back and forth match of the year. Mathis, in the first, was lights out, winning a 7-4 tiebreaker to claim the first set. His opponent went on to flip the script however, doing the exact same to Mathis. Finally it came down to a 10-point super tiebreak where Mathis was victorious, sending the Hounds back to Indy with another victory in tow.
 
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Malik Tabet on the team's performance…
"Best match UIndy played this season."
 
UP NEXT
The Hounds have a brief break, with them picking back up on March 31, against Missouri St. Louis, their GLVC opener.