After losing two to Penn and Georgetown this past Saturday, the Owls rebounded with a victory against Lehigh, 5-2.

In singles, juniors Nicolas Paulus (6-4, 6-2), Hicham Belkssir (6-3, 6-2) and Santiago Canete (3-6, 6-2, 6-2) led the team with strong performances. Sophomores Vineet Naran (6-4, 6-2) and Filip Stipcic, who won in 7-6 (2), 6-2, each took singles points to help the Owls gain control of the match.

“Santiago played really well today, even though he was under the weather,” coach Steve Mauro said. “After losing the first set, he won the next two sets pretty convincingly and I was happy with how he performed. Everyone else played really solid, and I was happy with how we came back from back-to-back losses.”

In doubles, the Owls struggled and Mauro said that he was unhappy with the team’s effort on the court.

“I was disappointed that we lost the doubles point,” Mauro said. “I don’t know what happened, but to me it looked like the guys weren’t ready for the match and were tired. The guys didn’t look up for the match.”

After losing the double point because his team was not ready, Mauro had to get his team back in the right mindset.

“After doubles we had to talk about showing more emotion in these matches because I though we were definitely the better doubles team today,” Mauro said. “I hope the guys learn not to take any team for granted in singles or doubles. We need come out with a lot more energy in our matches.”

With his win in singles today, Paulus now has 48 career victories, fifth all-time since 2001. He is four wins away from passing current graduate-assistant coach Kacper Rams for fourth all-time on that list.

The Owls (10-8, 0-2 American Athletic Conference) will have three days off before playing one of the most important matches of the season, as they host conference rival Connecticut on March 28.

-Dalton Balthaser

Freshman Alina Abdurakhimova lost for the first time in singles since Jan. 24 as the Owls dropped their second straight conference match to East Carolina on Wednesday, 4-1.

East Carolina dominated in all facets of the match by winning three out of four singles matches, and winning the doubles point by narrowly escaping two of the three matches in 7-6 victories.

The only point earned by the Owls came from sophomore Anais Nussaume, who won in straight sets with scores of 6-4, 6-2.

In its last two conference matches, the Owls have been outmatched, only earning two total points. They only earned those points in singles, failing to claim any of the doubles points.

The men’s team also played East Carolina Wednesday and lost, 4–0. The Owls were swept for the second straight conference match.

Just like in Temple’s 7-0 loss to Memphis earlier in the season, East Carolina controlled each match and didn’t allow any Owls to score more than four games in a set.

Both teams have struggled in conference play so far, going 0-4 with two points scored. The Owls have been unable to find success in singles or doubles against early conference competition, allowing opponents to control the outcome of each match.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have Connecticut left on their schedules at the Student Pavilion, which will be the last conference opponent they face before the American Athletic Conference Championships.

Both teams will be in Maryland Saturday as they both take on Hampton at 10 a.m. and Maryland Eastern Shore at 3 p.m.

-Dalton Balthaser

No. 16 Penn State dealt a 7-0 blowout defeat to the men’s tennis team Sunday. The Owls lost each match in straight sets.

The shutout marked the first instance this season in which the Owls were held without a point. They managed to get one point in matches against St. Joseph’s and Drexel in the City 6 Tournament.

The Nittany Lions controlled each match, and did not allow the Owls more than four games in any set.

Although the Nittany Lions dominated the Owls, coach Steve Mauro said this match is a stepping stone for his team.

“When you are winning games against these better teams and players, it gives you some confidence that you can compete with stronger teams if you put in the time to get better,” Mauro said.

Mauro said Penn State was better than squad Sunday, but that it can use this match early in the season as a judgment of where it stands as a team.

“Penn State was just better than us today,” Mauro said. “I think that something that the guys can take away from the match today is that we can compete with some of the better teams in the country … some of the scores were close on some of the courts, especially [junior Santiago Canete’s] match.”

The Owls (2-3) will have some time off before taking on Philadelphia University Feb. 13.

-Dalton Balthaser

Senior tennis player Hernan Vasconez will miss his final season of tennis eligibility after suffering a torn ACL.

According to a university spokesman, the injury occurred while practicing and getting ready for the upcoming semester’s season in his hometown of Ambato, Ecuador.

The lone senior on the team has amassed a 33-31 record in singles play and a 22-19 record in doubles during his three and a half years of competition at Temple.

Coach Steve Mauro said he is happy with his men’s tennis squad after it took a step up in competition on the first day of the Penn Invitational Friday.

“I think the guys fought hard and are getting better and better,” Mauro said.

Temple competed against the University of Pennsylvania, St. John’s and University of Buffalo.

Juniors Hicham Belkssir and Nicolas Paulus lost 8-6 in a doubles pro set against St. John’s. Although it was a defeat, Mauro was happy with how both players kept it close.

Belkssir also lost a tight single match against St. John’s in the third set, 6-4.

Junior Santiago Canete won both of his matches in a three-set singles win against Buffalo.

Mauro said one of the biggest factors was the matches were played indoors due to the rain from the day before.

“It wasn’t great for our style because the courts were kind of fast, something that we are not use to,” Mauro said.

Mauro said he was please with the way his team held themselves against its competition and looks forward to the rest of the tournament.

“It was a high level this weekend, I am sure we will do even better tomorrow.” Mauro said.

-Connor Northrup

The men’s tennis team opened its conference schedule on Saturday with a 5-1 victory against Connecticut.

Scheduling was complicated for coach Steve Mauro with the team’s move into the American Athletic Conference.  As a result, the UConn match was the only conference match Temple will play in the regular season.

“I thought we played extremely well in singles and everyone just fought hard,” Mauro said.

With the conference tournament less than three weeks from now, set to begin on April 17th in Memphis, Tenn., Mauro said he hopes the win will serve as a first step in propelling his team toward the postseason.

“We wanted to get a good start in the conference,” Mauro said.

“We were just able to get one conference match before the tournament but we were happy we played it,” Mauro added. “It really validates all the hard work that we’ve done to beat a conference opponent.”

Temple’s record now sits at 7-10 on the season.  Sunday’s match against Quinnipiac was canceled so Temple will next be in action on Thursday against city rival La Salle.

It’s been a tough start to the season for the men’s tennis team and it didn’t get any better on Sunday at William & Mary.  The Owls dropped a 6-1 decision on the road falling to 0-4 for the spring season.

Temple was never really in the match against the Tribe, as all six of the points for the Tribe were earned routinely in straight set victories.  One of the few bright spots for the Owls was junior Kristian Marquart’s straight sets victory in singles.

However, Marquart’s victory came at a time when the match was already clinched for William & Mary. Marquart, who lost a competitive three-set match in singles against UMBC on Friday, bounced back to win in straight sets on Sunday.

Friday’s match against UMBC was even worse for Temple, as the team lost 7-0.  After a difficult weekend, the Owls now look to regroup.  They will travel to Old Dominion on Saturday in search of their first victory of the season.

-Greg Frank