Washington University men’s tennis dropped its first match of the season, losing to Division I opponent Illinois State University in Normal, Ill. The 5-2 loss put Wash. U., the seventh-ranked team in Division III tennis, at 2-1 on the young season.

The scoring followed Division I rules, in which winning 2-3 doubles matches nets one point instead of having each singles and doubles match count equally.

Illinois State applied the pressure early, with a 9-8 (7-3) win by Luka Marinkovic and Daniel Tobar over juniors Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland at number one doubles. The Marinkovic/Tobar team is ranked No. 47 in Division I tennis while Cutler and Hoeland hold the third sport in the Division III rankings.

The Red and Green evened the battle for the doubles point with a 9-7 win by freshman Max Woods and junior Nirmal Choradia at third doubles. However, a second tiebreaker at number two doubles gave the Redbirds the point, as Nuno Jacinto and Xavier Riart-Ferrer defeated sophomore John Watts and freshman Isaac Stein 9-8 (7-5) in number two doubles.

“The doubles were all very close and it definitely may have changed the momentum if we had been able to pull it out. It’s always fun playing Division I teams because we know the match will be tough, but the pressure is mostly on them. It’s always nice to test ourselves against better opponents. The team Chris and I played is ranked 47 in the country in Division I, and we were two points from winning the match. I guess I feel like that proves something to us. We know we can play with the best,” said Cutler.

The Redbirds also flew in circles around the Bears in singles, winning four of six matches, all but number four and six singles. Jacinto knocked off Watts, the No. 1 ranked player in Division III tennis, by a score of 6-2, 6-4. Watts’ record now stands at 15-2 overall.

After Tobar knocked off Hoeland 7-5, 6-3 at fifth singles, Markinovic defeated Cutler, ranked 18th in Division III, for the second time at number two singles with a 6-4, 7-6 victory, clinching the Illinois State Win. Riart-Ferrer also defeated Woods 6-2, 6-3 at third singles.

Wash. U. did pick up two impressive wins, with Choradia winning at number six singles against Michael Hobson 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. Choradia was the only Bear to win two matches against the Redbirds.

Sophomore Danny Levy also won over Oscar Beich at fourth singles 6-4, 6-4.

“If you find yourself in a close, important match in May, you’re going to be much better off if you’ve gone through that experience and learned how to handle that pressure several times before. There’s no substitute for actual match experience in front of a crowd. And even in other matches, it’s always helpful to face tough competition, both to keep you humble and to keep you working hard. It’s good inspiration to make us work even harder to get even stronger,” stated captain junior Mark Partridge.

“I don’t think it’s a loss against a Division I team that will help us. It’s the fact that we played a good team that is going to help us. Division I, Division II, Division III, it doesn’t matter. If a team is good, it’s good. What matters is that we’re getting good competition and preparing ourselves for the rest of the season,” added Hoeland.

The loss to Illinois State comes a week before the team’s first round match against number six DePauw University at the 2008 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in St. Peter, Minn. Though coming off a loss, the experience gained by playing relatively even with a Division I opponent should help the team.

“The pace, power, athleticism and talent ISU brought to the table this afternoon was as strong or stronger than anything we will see this winter/spring season. Every player playing or witnessing their fellow teammates today knows we can play at that standard, as we continue to learn how to handle our nerves, trust our instincts and stick to our game plan,” said head coach Roger Follmer. “I definitely think this match helps us. Plus, the monkey is now off our back. We don’t have to worry about going undefeated this year.”

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