Huskies fall 5-2 to Quinnipiac Bobcats

The UConn men’s tennis team lost 5-2 to in-state rival Quinnipiac last Friday at the East Hartford Tennis Club. The loss extended the Huskies’ slide to four straight matches and dropped their record to 1-4 on the season.

“I thought the team played very hard today,” Coach Glenn Marshall said. “We got off to a good start by winning the doubles point.”

UConn secured the point thanks to the duos of Ryan Carr/Wayne Harrell and Mark HoSang/James Cohen at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots by winning their matches, 8-5, 9-8 (5), respectively.

Things unraveled for the Huskies in singles play, however, as the Bobcats were able to take five out of the six matches to come back and earn the victory. Harrell got the lone win for UConn by defeating Sebastian Barbero in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1; Fahoum Fahoum bested Carr in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2; Eric Ambrosio edged HoSang in one of the most intense matches of the day by the score of 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 at No. 3; Luke Roser topped Andrew Ginzberg in a back-and-forth marathon tilt at No. 4, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5); Garrett Lane overcame Zac McEntee, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 5; and Corey Morgenstern defeated Peter Surovic, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6.

HoSang and Ambrosio’s match drew a lot attention from the spectators as the UConn freshman from Bedford, N.H. battled back from down one set and a 1-4 deficit at one point in the second before evening the match. HoSang ran into early trouble again in the third, but attempted another comeback before ultimately falling short to Ambrosio.

“I guess I didn’t have that good of a first set,” HoSang said. “But I just tried to battle and make some more shots to win points and mix it up because my opponent was playing really well.”

HoSang’s match was just one of the four three-set matches the team played in singles.

“We need to be tougher mentally and take advantage of our opportunities,” Marshall said.

The Huskies will return to action next Friday when they travel to New Haven to take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers.