CARBONDALE, Ill. - Wichita State's men's tennis team finished the regular season with a dominating 7-0 victory against Southern Illinois on Saturday.
The Shockers (12-8, 4-1) now sit in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference with the chance to move into first place depending on the outcome of Illinois State's matches against Creighton and Drake this weekend.
WSU did not drop a match on Saturday, sweeping the doubles point and all six singles matches against the Salukis (6-12, 1-4). Sophomore David Cavalcanti and freshman Matheus Pereira got the ball rolling with a commanding 8-2 win over Orhan Spahic and Jordan Snyder, 8-2. The junior tandem of Vlad Marinescu and Adrian Chermaci did the same against Mpilo Migogo and Falk DeBeenhouwer in the No. 2 spot, 8-3.
At the top spot, redshirt freshman Sven Kasper and freshman Valentin Mihai took down Brandon Florez and Chikara Kidera, 8-4, to sweep the point.
With the momentum completely on their side, the Shockers rolled through singles play. Pereira moved to 13-3 on the spring, this time playing in the No. 5 position. He didn't surrender a game to Pavlo Buryi, winning 6-0, 6-0.
In the No. 3 spot, Mihai flew past Kidera, 6-2, 6-1 while Cavalcanti followed suit against Spahic. He took the No. 4 match, 6-1, 6-2. Playing in the No. 6 spot for the first time this season, Chermaci made quick work of Snyder to win, 6-2, 6-2.
With the dual already decided in the Shockers' favor, super tiebreak sets were used at the No. 1 and 2 position. Kasper rallied to top Migogo in the No. 1 match, 2-6, 6-0, 10-6. Marinescu wrapped up the afternoon when he hung in to defeat Florez in the No. 2 spot, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-3.
The Shockers return home to prepare for the State Farm MVC tournament. The tournament, hosted by Wichita State, starts on April 23.
Singles Results
1. Sven Kasper (WSU) def. Mpilo Migogo (SIU), 2-6, 6-0, 10-6
2. Vlad Marinescu (WSU) def. Brandon Florez (SIU), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-3
3. Valentin Mihai (WSU) def. Chikara Kidera (SIU), 6-2, 6-1
4. David Cavalcanti (WSU) def. Orhan Spahic, 6-1, 6-2
5. Matheus Pereira (WSU) def. Pavlo Buryi (SIU), 6-0, 6-0
6. Adrian Chermaci (WSU) def. Jordan Snyder (SIU), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Results
1. Kasper/Mihai (WSU) def. Florez/Kidera (SIU), 8-4
2. Chermaci/Marinescu (WSU) def. Migogo/DeBeenhouwer, 8-3
3. Cavalcanti/Pereira (WSU) def. Spahic/Snyder, 8-2
-Wichita State-
