Courtesy of Nevada Athletics –
LAS VEGAS – Nevada Men’s Tennis won its Mountain West Championships opener, 4-2, against Air Force. Youssef Kadiri clinched the win for the Pack with his come-from-behind 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win, now tied for the second most wins in a season in Wolf Pack history with 26. Kadiri and his partner, Lucas Hammond, broke the Nevada record for wins in a season by a doubles pair at 22.
The Pack jumped out in the lead, securing the doubles point with a pair of strong victories. On court one, Kadiri and Hammond broke Arjun Kersten and Jack Brown to take a 3-1 lead, then each team would hold serve to a 6-3 Pack victory. Kadiri and Hammond pass Victor Ouvrard and Robert Allan’s 2014 mark of 21 wins together, now holding the program record for wins by a doubles pair.
Rémy Trégourès and Greg Valente closed out the doubles point with a double break on Phillip Deaton and Tyler Leaird, giving the Pack duo a 5-1 lead. Trégourès and Valente were able to hold serve, winning 6-2. Max Contet and Rayen Hermassi held a 5-3 lead on serve when the session was abandoned.
Nevada briefly held a 2-0 lead when Trégourès defeated Matthew Staton in straight sets. After holding serve to a 2-2 score in the first set, Trégourès broke Staton twice to win the opening set 6-2. Trégourès broke Staton again early in the second set, holding out to a 6-4 second-set victory.
Air Force responded minutes later with AJ Moore’s 6-4, 6-1 victory on court three against Axel Huysmans. Huysmans made his first appearance for the Pack since March 18 after dealing with a lower-body injury for a month. The Falcons scored their second point with Alec Fritzinger’s 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over Hermassi on court four.
On court six, Contet broke Brown mid-set, leading to a 6-3 first-set victory. In the second set, the players traded breaks ending in a tiebreaker, which Contet would win a pair of return points to win 7-3.
The Pack clinched with Kadiri’s 1 hour, 53-minute win over Deaton on court one. Deaton broke Kadiri twice in the first frame to take a dominant lead after a 6-2 set win. Kadiri broke Deaton early in the set to take a 2-0 lead, then again in four straight points, allowing Kadiri to hold serve to win the second set, 6-3. Kadiri finished the comeback with another pair of breaks in the third set, each in long games, including a deciding point to give him a 5-2 lead. Kadiri held serve in his final service game, winning 6-2.
Nevada’s win sets up a semifinal against top-seeded and 42nd-ranked Boise State tomorrow at 5 p.m. The Pack will look to build on its competitive but disappointing 4-1 loss against the Broncos earlier this month.
Full Results
Nevada 4, Air Force 1
Doubles
No. 1 – Kadiri/Hammond (NEV) def. Kersten/Brown (AF), 6-3
No. 2 – Trégourès/Valente (NEV) def. Deaton/Leaird (AF), 6-2
No. 3 – Hermassi/Contet (NEV) vs. Moore/Langdon Tingleaf (AF), 5-3, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Singles
No. 1 – Kadiri (NEV) def. Deaton (AF), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 – Hammond (NEV) vs. Kersten (AF), 4-6, 6-4, 2-4, unfinished
No. 3 – Moore (AF) def. Huysmans (NEV), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 – Fritzinger (AF) def. Hermassi (NEV), 7-6 (3), 6-1
No. 5 – Trégourès (NEV) def. Staton (AF), 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 – Contet (NEV) def. Brown (AF), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 4, 6, 1
