[Men's Tennis] No. 12 SDCC Fall to No. 5 Reinhardt in Second Round of NAIA Finals

MOBILE, Ala. – The No.12 San Diego Christian College men's tennis team fell to the No.5 Reinhardt University Eagles 4-0 in the second round of the NAIA Men's Tennis Championships on Wednesday. The loss eliminated the Hawks from the tournament.

The Hawks took a shocking loss in the doubles competition that saw Reinhardt take down the defending National Champion team of Chris Papa and Ivan Smith by a score of 6-4. Robin Van den Hoek and David Samardzija also fell 6-4, while Nick Neinhaus and Julius Kaufmann were still battling with their Eagles opponents in a tiebreak.

The 4-0 score didn't reflect the play of the feisty Hawks. Nick Neinhaus was up by a set over RU's Martin Mendoza, and Ivan Smith had split the first two sets with the Eagles' Jordi Puig. Ultimately, Reinhardt scored victories in the other matches and was able to advance to the quarterfinals.

RESULTS

Doubles

1. Artem Vasheshnikova/Martin Mendoza (RUGA) def. Chris Papa/Ivan Smith (SDCC) 6-4

2. Jordi Puig/Sam Alexander (RUGA) vs. Nick Nienhaus/Julius Kaufmann (SDCC) 6-6 (4-3), unfinished

3. Pau Pujadas/Federico Gomez (RUGA) def. Robin Van den Hoek/David Samardzija (SDCC) 6-4

Singles

1. Artem Vasheshnikova (RUGA) def. Chris Papa (SDCC) 6-0, 6-4

2. Martin Mendoza (RUGA) vs. Nick Nienhaus (SDCC) 3-6, 3-2, unfinished

3. Jordi Puig (RUGA) vs. Ivan Smith (SDCC) 3-6, 6-4, 4-3, unfinished

4. Sam Alexander (RUGA) vs. Robin Van den Hoek (SDCC) 7-5, 1-2, unfinished

5. Pau Pujadas (RUGA) def. David Samardzija (SDCC) 6-2, 6-1

6. Masumi Komada (RUGA) def. Julius Kaufmann (SDCC) 6-0, 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,5,1).