LOS ANGELES – The LMU men's tennis team opened the 2023 spring season with a come-from-behind victory over the visiting UC Riverside Highlanders on Wednesday afternoon at the LMU Tennis Center.Â
Â
The Lions dropped the doubles point after three hard fought matches. Alvaro Gonzalez and
Lincoln Bellamy threw up a donut in the lone win in the doubles round. Â
Â
LMU would not go away and threw up two more donuts in singles play.Â
Â
Emin Torlic skunked his opponent in the first set, and almost in the second as well. He dropped only one game between his singles and doubles play. Â
Â
Arthur Pantino flashed some brilliance on Court 2, throwing a zero on the scoreboard in the first set before finishing off the second set 6-2.Â
Â
Bellamy cruised to a 6-1 victory in his first set but needed seven to finish the second set and get the Lions a much-needed point on Court 6. Â
Â
Gonzalez fought hard in a sweep on Court 4, winning 6-3, 6-4. He clinched the match for the Lions.Â
Â
Yassine Smiej dropped the first set on Court 1 before taking the second. As the match was clinched, Court 1 was decided by a super tiebreaker. Smiej cruised to a 10-2 victory, marking the final tally.Â
Â
The Lions play again on Sunday at UC San Diego. The match will begin at 1:00 PM (PT) in La Jolla, Calif.Â