LOS ANGELES — No. 58 LMU men's tennis defeated Dartmouth 5-2 on Tuesday at the LMU Tennis Center, improving to 12-1 on the season, the best start in program history and the best nonconference record the Lions have ever posted.
LMU won the doubles point on the strength of two convincing victories. Alex Padro and Max Wuelfing dispatched the No. 78-ranked duo of Miles Groom and Henry Ren, 6-3, at No. 1 doubles, the Lions' first win over a ranked doubles pair this season. Cesar Cruz and Emil Kindhult followed with a 6-1 romp at No. 2. The third court was left unfinished with the point already clinched.
Singles play featured a mix of dominance and drama. Wuelfing, bouncing back from his first loss of the season, worked through a tough first set before pulling away to defeat Ren 6-4, 6-1 at the top of the lineup. On court two, Cruz was relentless against Kornel Halmos, closing out a 6-4, 6-2 win that was never in question.
The match was decided in the middle of the lineup, where Kuba Hrynkiewicz delivered when it mattered most. Facing Adrian Treacy at No. 4, Hrynkiewicz won the first set 6-4 before closing out a tightly contested second-set tiebreaker, 7-6(4), to clinch the match for LMU.
Cyrus Ahmad sealed the final margin at No. 6, splitting the first two sets with Denny Bao before winning the decisive 10-point tiebreaker, 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-0(7).
Dartmouth's two points came from Yujiro Onuma at No. 5, who defeated Tristan Messerli 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, and Groom at No. 3, who rallied past Emil Kindhult 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
LMU's 12-1 record stands as the program's finest opening to a campaign.
The Lions will open WCC play this weekend with trips to Pacific on Saturday and Saint Mary's on Sunday.
