DePaul University Athletics
Saturday, February 29
Chicago, Ill.
4:15 P.M. CT
DePaul University
4
vs
3
Illinois State
Blue Demons Show True Grit on Saturday
2/29/2020 9:25:00 PM | MEN'S TENNIS
DePaul prevails 4-3 over Illinois State at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness
CHICAGO – One day after a highly competitive match against No. 7 Columbia, the DePaul men's tennis team engaged in another compelling showdown and came away with a well-deserved 4-3 victory over Illinois State on Saturday.
Seemingly exhausting themselves in a loss to Columbia while performing at their highest level of the season, the Band of Brothers battled through a singles round that featured four matches requiring a the third set with tiebreakers in three of the four.
Whew.
The encounter at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness had a smooth enough beginning as the Blue Demon doubles teams of No. 1 Boris Spanjaard and Christopher Casati, No. 2 Vito and Fran Tonejc and No. 3 Luuk Wassenaar and Tripp Tuff swept the Redbirds for an early 1-0 lead.
Casati's straight-set singles triumph at No. 3 followed by Wassenaar duplicating that result at No. 4 put DePaul (6-9) within a point of clinching the match.
That's when the marathon began. Fran Tonejc fell 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0 to Nam Pham and ISU (11-6) was on the board.
But Vito Tonejc would not let the Redbirds get any closer than 3-1 after a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Diego Le Gal Perez at No. 2 singles.
Illinois State (11-7) won the final two matches---both in three sets---to account for the final margin.
"What a great way to finish off a tough weekend of tennis for our program," said DePaul coach Matt Brothers. "I am extremely happy with the fitness level of our players and how well they competed back-to-back. We are getting better with every match we play."
Next up is a match Friday against Northern Illinois at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness.
DePaul 4, Illinois State 3
Lakeshore Sport & Fitness
Feb. 29, 2020
Singles
1. Butifoll def. Spanjaard 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. V. Tonejc def. Le Gal Perez 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
3. Casati def. Herrera 6-1, 6-4
4. Wassenaar def. Isaksson 6-3, 7-5
5. Bartra def. Tuff 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1)
6. Pham def. F. Tonejc 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
1. Casati/Spanjaard def. Bartra/Rasmusson 6-2
2. V. Tonejc/F. Tonejc def. Le Gal Perez/Butifoll 6-2
3. Wassenaar/Tuff def. Isaksson/Lew 6-4
Seemingly exhausting themselves in a loss to Columbia while performing at their highest level of the season, the Band of Brothers battled through a singles round that featured four matches requiring a the third set with tiebreakers in three of the four.
Whew.
The encounter at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness had a smooth enough beginning as the Blue Demon doubles teams of No. 1 Boris Spanjaard and Christopher Casati, No. 2 Vito and Fran Tonejc and No. 3 Luuk Wassenaar and Tripp Tuff swept the Redbirds for an early 1-0 lead.
Casati's straight-set singles triumph at No. 3 followed by Wassenaar duplicating that result at No. 4 put DePaul (6-9) within a point of clinching the match.
That's when the marathon began. Fran Tonejc fell 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0 to Nam Pham and ISU (11-6) was on the board.
But Vito Tonejc would not let the Redbirds get any closer than 3-1 after a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Diego Le Gal Perez at No. 2 singles.
Illinois State (11-7) won the final two matches---both in three sets---to account for the final margin.
"What a great way to finish off a tough weekend of tennis for our program," said DePaul coach Matt Brothers. "I am extremely happy with the fitness level of our players and how well they competed back-to-back. We are getting better with every match we play."
Next up is a match Friday against Northern Illinois at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness.
DePaul 4, Illinois State 3
Lakeshore Sport & Fitness
Feb. 29, 2020
Singles
1. Butifoll def. Spanjaard 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. V. Tonejc def. Le Gal Perez 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
3. Casati def. Herrera 6-1, 6-4
4. Wassenaar def. Isaksson 6-3, 7-5
5. Bartra def. Tuff 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1)
6. Pham def. F. Tonejc 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
1. Casati/Spanjaard def. Bartra/Rasmusson 6-2
2. V. Tonejc/F. Tonejc def. Le Gal Perez/Butifoll 6-2
3. Wassenaar/Tuff def. Isaksson/Lew 6-4
Players Mentioned
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