The University of Southern Indiana men’s tennis team defeated the University of Illinois Springfield, 9-0, Saturday afternoon in their first home match in 6 weeks and their first match at the USI Tennis Courts. The team’s fifth straight win moves the 45th-ranked Screaming Eagles to 10-3 on the season and 1-0 in Great Lakes Valley Conference competition.
Two USI doubles teams won their matches without dropping a set, 8-0. The senior duo of Jack Joyce(Bournemouth, England) and Joel Stern (Mjoelby, Sweden) picked up their sixth straight win and remain undefeated when competing together in 2015-16. Freshman James Hardiman (Blackwell Bristol, United Kingdom) and junior Aaron Barris (Marietta, Georgia) also picked up the 8-0 win sending the match into singles play.
Hardiman started singles play with a 6-1, 6-3 win at number-three. At number-one, sophomore Samuel Kiladejo (London England) fended off UIS’s Cole Buehnerkemper in the first set 7-6 (8-3), before winning the second set 6-3. Junior Paul Forichon (Nimes, France) moved to 14-3 on the season in singles play with his 6-2, 6-0 win at five while freshman Ilia Karelin (Ekaterinburg, Russia) picked up his first win since March 5.
The Eagles will make the two-hour drive north in the morning to take on Rose-Hulman University in the team’s final non-conference match. In Terre Haute, the match gets started at 11 a.m.
University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis
Illinois Springfield vs Southern Indiana (April 2, 2016)
#45 Southern Indiana 9, Illinois Springfield 0
April 2, 2016 at Evansville, Indiana (USI Tennis Courts)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Samuel Kiladejo (USI) def. Cole Buehnerkemper (UIS) 7-6 (8-3), 6-3 |
| 2. Jack Joyce (USI) def. Sam Clarke (UIS) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 3. James Hardiman (USI) def. Logan Burgess Hayes (UIS) 6-1, 6-3 |
| 4. Joel Stern (USI) def. Grant Fitzsimmons (UIS) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 5. Paul Forichon (USI) def. Ajay Bandreddy (UIS) 6-2, 6-0 |
| 6. Ilia Karelin (USI) def. Sean Courty (UIS) 6-1, 6-0 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Paul Forichon/Samuel Kiladejo (USI) def. Cole Buehnerkemper/Logan Burgess Hayes (UIS) 8-6 |
| 2. Jack Joyce/Joel Stern (USI) def. Sam Clarke/Christian Timm (UIS) 8-0 |
| 3. Aaron Barris/James Hardiman (USI) def. Grant Fitzsimmons/Ajay Bandreddy (UIS) 8-0 |
| Match Notes |
| Illinois Springfield 9-7 (0-1) |
| Southern Indiana 10-3 (1-0); National ranking #45; Regional ranking #6 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (,2,1,3); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6) |
