Mountain Hawks Drop Two on Second Day of Spring Break

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HILTON HEAD, SC – The Lehigh men’s tennis team returned to Hilton Head for two matches on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks dropped a close one to George Mason in the morning and fell to South Carolina State later in the day.

Lehigh had a tough start to his match against George Mason, dropping the doubles point and falling behind 1-0 going into singles play. Senior Zack Elliott picked up a win at the No. 1 spot during singles play. Elliott defeated Rishab Sardana 6-4, 6-1. Junior Matthew Kleiman and sophomore Jordan Paul both picked up wins during singles play. In the fifth flight, Kleiman defeated George Mason’s Hayden Postin 8-2. Paul picked up the win in the sixth flight, defeating Chanasorn Nakaurai 8-3.

In its second match of the day, Lehigh fell behind early. First-year Marc Blekhman and senior Gary Fishkin picked up the Mountain Hawks’ only win in doubles. The duo defeated Rostislav Haflinger and Ivan Pauluychenko from South Carolina State 7-5 in the second flight.

The Mountain Hawks continued to struggle in singles play, with only one member picking up a win against South Carolina State. Kleiman defeated Aissa Benchakroun 5-3 in the first set before South Carolina defaulted in the second. The junior went undefeated in singles play at Hilton Head, winning all three matches.

Lehigh will head back to Bethlehem to prepare for two matches next weekend. The Mountain Hawks will head to Loyola on March 19 to begin Patriot League play before hosting Villanova at Lewis Tennis Center on March 20.

George Mason4, Lehigh3
doubles

  1. Rishab Sardana / Alredbdi (George Mason) def. Elliott-Paul (Lehigh) 6-0
  2. Rithik Sardana / Rivas (George Mason) def. Fishkin v Blekhman (Lehigh) 6-1
  3. Khan / Postin (George Mason) def. Bukhalo-Kleiman (Lehigh) 6-3

singles

  1. Zack Elliott (Lehigh) def. Rishab Sardana (George Mason) 6-4, 6-1
  2. Rithik Sardana (George Mason) def. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) 7-5, 6-2
  3. Momin Khan (George Mason) def. Gary Fishkin (Lehigh) 6-1, 6-2
  4. Faisal Alrebdi (George Mason) def. Michael Bukhalo (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-1
  5. Matthew Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Hayden Postin (George Mason) 8-2
  6. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) def. Chanasorn Nakaurai (George Mason) 8-3

South Carolina State 5, Lehigh 1
doubles

  1. Niv / Benchakroun (South Carolina State) def. Elliott-Nazaroff (Lehigh) 6-4
  2. Blekhman / Fishkin (Lehigh) def. Haflinger v Pauluychenko (South Carolina State) 7-5
  3. Sasso / Almashey (South Carolina State) def. Donovan / Bukhalo (Lehigh) 6-4

singles

  1. Rostislav Haflinger (South Carolina State) def. Zack Elliott (Lehigh) 7-5, 2-6, 10-7
  2. Benjamin Niv (South Carolina State) def. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) 6-3, 6-4
  3. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def. Aissa Benchakroun (South Carolina State) 5-3, default
  4. Omer Gorgun (South Carolina State) def. Gary Fishkin (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-2
  5. Ivan Pauluychenko (South Carolina State) def. Michael Bukhalo (Lehigh) 6-2, 6-2
  6. Diego Araluz (South Carolina State) vs. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 4-6, DNF

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