BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In an evenly matched contest to open the 2014 Landmark Conference schedule, the Moravian College men's tennis team used its athleticism and never-say-die attitude to outlast Goucher College, 6-3, on Saturday afternoon on the Hoffman Courts.
Moravian (4-4, 1-0 Landmark) fell behind 2-1 after the doubles competition, but rallied back by taking five of the six singles matches to win the conference opener.
"Goucher is a much improved team from last year," head coach Art Smith said. "It's always good to get out to a win to start the conference. One of the differences today was our guys showing their athleticism. They were running balls down all day long. A lot of the tennis was pretty even, but we came out on top because of great athletic and hard-nosed play."
Junior Lewis Cooper and freshman Mike Antonis had their hands on three of the six Greyhound points on Saturday. The duo teamed up for an 8-2 win at second doubles, while Antonis was victorious at fourth singles 6-3, 6-0.
Cooper led a first-set lead slip away in his third singles match before falling 7-6 (7-3) after the tiebreaker. The junior co-captain responded ferociously with a 6-0 win in the second set and closed out the victory in the third, 6-3.
"That's a tough mental thing to come back from," Smith said of Cooper's first-set comeback. "Lewis is a tough competitor and he was up for the challenge. He focused in and got the job done without letting the blown lead affect him."
Sophomore John Wylie had revenge on the mind at second singles after falling to Goucher's David Spivey 6-4, 6-5 last season. Wylie got his retribution, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, as Moravian continued its singles dominance on Saturday.
Freshmen Giovanni Lombardi and Dan Schmucker clinched the win with victories at fifth and sixth singles, respectively. Lombardi won 6-3, 6-2, while Schmucker came ready to play after not participating in doubles play. He managed to stay fired up through a four-hour layover to beat his Goucher opponent in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
"I've said before our strength this year was going to be our depth and we showed that today," Smith said. "Giovanni and Mike are continuing to impress as freshman and did it on the conference stage today. Dan had to sit for four hours, but still got it done. That kind of depth, and getting the results from younger players, that bodes well for the rest of this season."
The Greyhounds are back in action with their second Landmark match of the year on Saturday, March 22 when Drew University comes to the Hoffman Courts at 1 p.m.
