USI honored two seniors, Lucas Sakamaki and Yahor Bahdanovich
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the second straight match, University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis (7-14, 3-6 Horizon) earned a Horizon League victory in stellar fashion, this time defeating Eastern Illinois University, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the USI Tennis Courts. The Screaming Eagles also honored seniors Lucas Sakamaki (Louisville, Kentucky) and Yahor Bahdanovich (Minsk, Belarus) for their athletic and academic careers at USI.
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Doubles: Despite winning at number one, the Eagles dropped doubles two and three to give the Panthers a quick 1-0 lead. Sakamaki and freshman Omar ElSamahy (Cairo, Egypt) paired up to take down their opponents, 6-0, at number one.
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Singles: It did not take long for USI to get the advantage with Sakami taking control at singles two (7-6, 6-1) and ElSamahy handling his opponent easily at number one (6-4, 6-4). Junior Dylan Brown (Evansville, Indiana) provided a key win in the match, winning 6-2, 7-6 at number six to extend the Eagles’ lead to 3-1 over EIU. Even though the Panthers won in singles four, sophomore Quinten Gillespie (Whiteland, Indiana) etched out his opponent in a three-set tiebreaker (6-7, 6-2, 6-3) at number five to walk it off for USI.
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