ALBION, Mich.—The Trine men's tennis team opened its 2015-16 season on Thursday night with a 6-3 win on the road at Albion. The Thunder won two out of three doubles matches and followed with four victories in singles. The match counted as a non-conference victory, and Trine and Albion will meet again for a MIAA contest in the spring.
In doubles, Caleb Knust (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) teamed up with Nick Cassidy (Archibold, Ohio/Perrysburg HS) to defeat Ross Kynast and Zach McKenzie, 8-2. Sophomore Victor Flynn (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Pointe South HS) hit the court with classmate Judson Quinn (Russiaville, Ind./Western HS) to take down Albion's Peter Pappas and Josh McGarry by a 9-7 score. Senior Zach Richardson (Muncie, Ind./Delta HS) and freshman Blake Trusty (Fremont, Ind./Fremont HS) lost an 8-6 match to Nick Kinachtchouk and Robert Joerg.
Knust faced off against Kynast at No. 1 singles. The Thunder senior blanked his opponent in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. At No. 2 singles, Cassidy dropped his first set, 7-6 to Pappas, but came back to win the second, 6-3. Cassidy won the match with a 10-6 victory in the tiebreaker. Quinn dropped a 6-1, 6-2 match to Joerg in the third singles spot. At No. 4 singles, Flynn picked up a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Joerg. Junior Garrett Baysinger (Brazil, Ind./Rockville HS) lost at the fifth singles spot. Trusty earned his first collegiate victory with a win over Kinachtchouk, 6-1, 2-6 (10-6).
The Thunder will be back in action on Sept. 16 when it plays host to Olivet for another non-conference match at 4 p.m.
