INDIANAPOLIS - The Trine University men’s tennis team came home from a double header match on February 18 and 19 with two wins. The Thunder defeated Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday 5-4 and Franklin College on Sunday 7-2. The Thunder are 2-0 to start the season.
Trine started the Saturday’s match down 2-1 after the second doubles team of Zach Richardson (Muncie, Ind./Delta) and Trevor Derby (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) fell 8-6 and the third doubles team of Nick Ihrie (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) and David Murray (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) fell 8-4. Dan Desper (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) and Joe Dunbar (Carmel, Ind./Blessed Theodore Guerin) gave the Thunder their only doubles win, as they took their first doubles match 8-5.
The Thunder needed to win four out of the six singles matches to take home the win against Rose-Hulman and they did just that. Desper won at second singles 6-4, 6-4 while at third singles, Murray played a tight match and won 7-5, 7-5. Ihrie then handled the sixth singles match 6-0, 6-4. Dunbar lost at first singles 3-6, 4-6 and Derby dropped the fifth singles match 1-6, 5-7.
The deciding match came in the fourth singles. Freshman Joey Clark (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis) battled back in his first college match after losing the first set 1-6 to win the next two sets 6-2, 7-5.
On Sunday, the Thunder defeated Franklin College in all six singles matches to go up early 6-0. Dunbar won a hard fought first singles match 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Desper took care of second singles by winning 6-3 in the first set and then winning a second set tie-breaker 7-3. Murray won at third singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Clark earned his second straight three set victory as he won the fourth singles match 0-6, 7-5, 6-3. Derby defeated Franklin College's fifth singles player 7-5, 6-3 and Ihrie won a long match at sixth singles 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
The doubles matches did not go in favor of Trine as Franklin won two out of the three matches. Desper and Dunbar lost 8-5 at first doubles and Richardson and Derby lost a long match at second doubles 9-7. The third doubles team of Murray and Ihrie picked up a victory by winning 8-2.
Trine will open their home schedule as they host Taylor University on April 25th at 11:00 a.m.