LOS ANGELES – Down 1-0 after doubles play, LMU men's tennis showed resilience and grit to storm back and defeat Utah State 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the LMU Tennis Center, with Cyrus Ahmad delivering the clinching point on Court 6 to spark jubilant celebrations.
"Let's put a stamp on February," said head coach
Tom Lloyd before the match. His team did exactly that.
The Lions found themselves in an early hole after Utah State claimed the doubles point. Jean-Baptiste Badon and Dmitri Goubin defeated
Emil Kindhult and
Kuba Hrynkiewicz 6-0 on Court 2 in the first match to finish.
Cesar Cruz and
Darius Tamaddon kept LMU's hopes alive with a 6-4 victory on Court 3, but Xavier Calvelo and Jakub Medved clinched the doubles point for the Aggies with a 6-4 win on Court 1.
Trailing 1-0 heading into singles, the Lions needed a strong response, but things got worse before they got better.
Eliot Nobel finished first in singles action, defeating
Emil Kindhult 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 to extend Utah State's lead to 2-0. The pressure mounted when Roman Venger posted a 6-2, 6-3 victory over
Kuba Hrynkiewicz at No. 4, putting the Aggies up 3-0 and just one point from victory.
That's when the comeback began in earnest.
Cesar Cruz ignited the rally at No. 2, defeating Xavier Calvelo 6-3, 6-3 to get LMU on the board at 3-1. Moments later, Max Wuelfing broke through at No. 1 singles, outlasting Jean-Baptiste Badon 6-2, 7-6 to make it 3-2.
The momentum had completely shifted. Alex Padro kept the rally alive at No. 5, battling back from a set down to defeat Jakub Medved 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, knotting the match at 3-3.
With the team score tied and everything on the line, all eyes turned to No. 6, where
Cyrus Ahmad was locked in an epic three-set battle with Dmitri Goubin. Ahmad had taken a tight first set 7-5, then dropped a heartbreaking second set 7-6 in a tiebreaker. Now, in the decisive third set, the entire match hung in the balance.
Ahmad rose to the occasion, and after falling behind 2-0, won six of eight games to complete the comeback and seal the 4-3 victory for the Lions.
The moment the final ball landed, the LMU Tennis Center erupted in celebration.
Teammates sprinted onto Court 6, mobbing Ahmad and sending the Lions home with a memorable victory.
