Briefly...
Coming off a week in splitting two dual matches, the Loyola Marymount University men’s tennis team will have to shake off the what ifs as they head to the Northwest. The Lions missed an opportunity to upset Princeton as they fell 4-3 but held match point in several matches that would have turned the tables. However, they earned an impressive 6-1 win over Dartmouth College earlier in the week...Still on fire for the Lions is sophomore Iman Nilipour, who picked up his seventh straight win in singles play with a win in number six singles against Dartmouth College.

Up Next...
The men’s tennis team for Loyola Marymount University will be on the road again as they will play three dual matches in two days while in Seattle, WA. The trip will start with the University of Washington on Saturday, March 31, and will conclude with Portland State on Sunday, April 1 at 2 p.m. Sandwiched in between the two matches will be a dual match against West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Match Recap
The Lions opened the season with losses to local rivals UC Irvine (7-0) and UC Santa Barbara (5-2), as the youthful squad went through growing pains. However, on their first major road trip of the season, the Lions earned their first dual match victory, defeating Belmont University 4-3. The Lions would drop their next four of five matches, losing to highly ranked Texas-Arlington, Arkansas, Arizona and Arizona State. They would defeat Northern Arizona 4-2. The Lions would then respond with three straight wins, defeating Portland in West Coast Conference play, 4-3, and then sweeping Rutgers and Cal Lutheran. The Lions’ latest set of matches saw then take on Bowling Green in Las Vegas and losing a heartbreaker 4-3. They would respond with a 7-0 victory over Metro State in Denver, Colo., before losing to Denver and Air Force. The Lions returned home for a pair of matches against Dartmouth on March 21 and Princeton on March 24. The Lions cruised to a convincing 6-1 win over Dartmouth, winning all but number two doubles and number one singles. Sophomores Iman Nilipour and Johannes Asuja both continued their winning streaks (7 and 4). The Lions saw victory taken from them against Princeton, as they fell to the Tigers 4-3. Asuja won his fifth straight match with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win at number three singles.

Asuja on Fire
Johannes Asuja became the first Lion to reach double-digit wins on the season, winning his 10th match of the year against Princeton. The win at the number three singles spot was his eighth win in his last nine matches and his fifth straight. The sophomore Asuja is 6-1 at number four singles and leads the team with the 10 singles victories with an overall record of 10-4... Asuja’s latest accomplishments at the number four singles spot includes 7-6, 6-2 win over Jay Patel of Denver, a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jojo Munpi of Metro State, a 6-1, 6-1 win over Joey Muscatiello of Rutgers and a thrilling 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 come from behind win over Matt Baer of conference foe Portland. Asuja’s last three singles wins, including a 7-6, 7-5 win over Kyle Rainey of Air Force in number two singles competition, have come while moving up from the number three spot. His last two were at number three singles.

On a Roll at the Six
The only singles player that might be hotter than Asuja for the Lions is Iman Nilipour, who primarily shores up the number six singles spot for the LMU. Nilipour is on a seven match winning streak, with his last loss coming against Portland on March 10. His streak includes a 6-1, 6-0 win over Cal Lutheran’s Calvin Hee at number three singles and marathon match against Denver’s Mike Ceilley. The two went for two hours with Nilipour winning 6-3, 4-6, 11-9. His last match was a 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Harlan Thompson of Dartmouth. He has only dropped two sets during his winning streak.

LMU Head Coach
Bjorn Bork enters his second year as head coach of the LMU men’s tennis program. Prior to coming to LMU, Bork was an assistant at Cal Lutheran. Bork brings enthusiasm and a desire to win to a program that has not had a winning percentage above .600 since the 1990 season. A 1994 graduate of Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, Bork earned his bachelor’s degree in English. He entered the 2001 season with an overall record of 12-13. Through March 26, his record is now 19-23.