Loyola Men’s Tennis Outlasts Morgan State, 4-3, to Open McClure Invitational

Loyola University Maryland men’s tennis opened the McClure Invitational with a narrow 4-3 victory over crosstown opponent Morgan State on Friday at the McClure Tennis Center in Baltimore.

The Greyhounds swept the three doubles matches to secure the critical doubles point before Louis Moldenhauer, Blake Edwards and Khai Rees supplied three singles victories. Morgan State responded by winning three of the six singles matches, but Loyola’s early work in doubles ultimately provided the difference in the one-point victory.

Greyhounds Sweep Doubles

Loyola could not have asked for a much better beginning to the match.

Petter Hagen and Ryan Gill faced Morgan State’s Ilya Maltsev and Abdulraheem Isa at No. 1 doubles. It was the closest doubles match of the afternoon, with the Loyola pairing eventually prevailing 7-6 (5).

Moldenhauer and David Suarez earned another victory at No. 2. They defeated Yessine Kerouat and Mohamed Ridha Ghettas, 6-4, giving Loyola control of the doubles portion of the competition.

Cyrus Shivkumar and Eddie Roake completed the sweep against Jacob Poole and Antonio Santos at No. 3. Loyola’s official recap lists that result as a victory for the Greyhounds, and the three doubles wins secured the opening team point.

That point became extremely important once singles competition began.

Morgan State Answers in Singles

Morgan State did not allow Loyola to pull away.

Maltsev produced a strong performance at No. 1 singles, defeating Hagen in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. The sophomore gave the Bears an important point after being on the losing side of the tight No. 1 doubles match.

Ghettas also delivered for Morgan State. Playing Suarez at No. 3 singles, Ghettas earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Isa supplied the Bears’ third singles victory. He controlled his No. 4 match against Roake, winning 6-2, 6-1.

Morgan State therefore split the six singles matches with Loyola, putting even more importance on the doubles point the Greyhounds had already secured.

Moldenhauer Leads Loyola’s Singles Victories

Moldenhauer was one of Loyola’s biggest contributors because he earned victories in both doubles and singles.

After partnering with Suarez for the No. 2 doubles victory, Moldenhauer defeated Kerouat at No. 2 singles. Moldenhauer dominated the opening set 6-0 before closing the match with a 6-3 second-set victory.

Edwards delivered another straight-set victory for the Greyhounds at No. 5.

Facing Santos, Edwards took the opening set 6-3 and became even more dominant in the second, winning 6-1. His victory provided another crucial team point as Morgan State continued collecting wins toward the top of the singles lineup.

Rees completed Loyola’s three singles victories at No. 6.

He defeated Poole 6-1, 6-4. Rees controlled the first set before holding off a more competitive challenge from Poole in the second.

Those three victories, combined with the doubles point, gave Loyola the four team points it needed.

Doubles Point Decides Baltimore Matchup

The final 4-3 score demonstrated just how important doubles play can be in a college tennis dual.

Loyola and Morgan State each won three singles matches. Morgan State captured Nos. 1, 3 and 4, while Loyola took Nos. 2, 5 and 6. The Greyhounds’ sweep of doubles therefore represented the difference between winning and losing the match.

Morgan State’s own post-match account also identified doubles as the deciding factor. The Bears were unable to overcome the early deficit despite getting singles victories from Maltsev, Ghettas and Isa.

For Loyola, Moldenhauer had an especially productive day. He contributed to the 6-4 doubles victory with Suarez and then surrendered only three games during his 6-0, 6-3 singles win.

Edwards and Rees also provided valuable production from the bottom portion of Loyola’s lineup. Together, the three Greyhounds who won singles surrendered only 15 games across their six sets.

McClure Invitational Underway

The victory came on the opening day of the McClure Invitational, Loyola’s home fall event at the McClure Tennis Center.

The competition features several Maryland programs and provides early-season tournament opportunities before the championship portion of the college tennis calendar.

Morgan State remained in Baltimore following Friday’s match and was scheduled to face Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday. The Mount later defeated the Bears by the same 4-3 margin, again sweeping the doubles matches before Morgan State won three singles contests.

For Loyola, Friday provided an encouraging opening result at its home tournament and showed the importance of production throughout the lineup.

MSB Take

Loyola and Morgan State could hardly have played a more evenly matched singles competition. Each program won three matches, and Morgan State was particularly effective at Nos. 1, 3 and 4.

The difference was Loyola’s doubles performance.

Winning all three doubles matches allowed the Greyhounds to enter singles competition with a point that ultimately proved decisive. The 7-6 victory by Hagen and Gill at No. 1 was particularly important because that match could easily have gone in Morgan State’s direction.

Moldenhauer also deserves recognition for winning in both formats. His 6-0, 6-3 singles victory was Loyola’s most decisive result near the top of the lineup, and his doubles victory with Suarez helped establish the Greyhounds’ early advantage.

Edwards and Rees then demonstrated the depth of Loyola’s lineup by taking care of Nos. 5 and 6.

Morgan State made Loyola work for this one. The Bears won half of the singles matches and kept the final team score at 4-3, but Loyola’s complete performance in doubles was enough to secure the victory.

In a match decided by a single team point, sweeping doubles made all the difference.