March 23, 2009

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (SMU)-SMU men's tennis (11-8) defeated Saint Mary's (7-11) in the Pebble Beach Collegiate Tennis Classic on Sunday, March 22 by a 5-1 margin at the Beach and Tennis Club.

Due to temperamental weather conditions, singles were pushed to the top of the order and No. 71 SMU collected the win without the doubles point by earning wins in five of the six singles matches. Freshman David Costa set the tone at the top spot for the Mustangs, downing Lucas Tirelli in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).

Collecting his fourth consecutive win on court two, junior Chris Hooshyar overcame a second set loss to beat out Achim Christner (6-1, 2-6, 6-4), while sophomore Artem Baradach improved to 15-4 on the season to lead the Mustangs with a win over Maxime Olivan (6-2, 6-3).

Sophomore Darren Walsh posted a win in a grueling three set match against Gavin Leon. Walsh battled through a first-set tiebreaker to claim the lead, and then Leon evened things up with a second set win. Walsh made his comeback in an easy third set to claim a match victory (7-5, 4-6, 6-3).

Bouncing back from a loss against No. 46 Cal, freshman Gaston Cuadranti retaliated against Youssef Bouzkouri in straight sets for the win (6-4, 6-4).

The Mustangs will return to action against Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at the Turpin Tennis Stadium.

Tennis Match ResultsSMU vs Saint Mary's3/22/2009 at Pebble Beach, Calif.
SMU 5, Saint Mary's 1
Singles competition1. David Costa (SMU) def. Lucas Tirelli (STMARYS) 6-4, 6-42. Chris Hooshyar (SMU) def. Achim Christner (STMARYS) 6-1, 2-6, 6-43. Artem Baradach (SMU) def. Maxime Olivan (STMARYS) 6-2, 6-34. Darren Walsh (SMU) def. Gavin Leon (STMARYS) 7-5, 4-6, 6-35. Andrea Zannoni (STMARYS) def. Adham el-Effendi (SMU) 6-2, 6-46. Gaston Cuadranti (SMU) def. Youssef El Bouzkouri (STMARYS) 6-4, 6-4