MORAGA, Calif. -- Whatever the Saint Mary's men's tennis team worked on during a nearly three-week break from match competition seems to have had an impact as, for the second straight day, the Gaels pulled out a tense doubles point and then rolled in singles en route to a 6-1 win over Navy.
Both Saint Mary's and Navy brought plenty of energy to the table right away Thursday, and sunny skies provided the perfect backdroup for a good day of tennis. The Gaels struck first but it didn't come easy, as Samuel Bloore and Thomas Alexander Hunt had to work hard for a 6-4 win over Blake Daniel and Calvin Mark on court 1.
A quick start on court 2 looked like it might provide Saint Mary's with the second win it needed to take the opening point, but Navy rallied to even the match and put that result in doubt. Meanwhile, Arthur Weber and Jacob Lagman were working to stay with Tucker Massie and Tyler Tossavainen on court 3 and the two teams remained tied at 5 late in the match. That's when SMC made its move, getting a service break to go up 6-5 and then converting on serve, scoring the winning point when a big second serve by Lagman was returned long.
With the first point of the day in hand, Saint Mary's went to work on the singles court. Bloore had no trouble putting point No. 2 on the board, rolling to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Thomas Pecor on court 2. Next to finish was freshman Matthew Campana and, one day after scoring his first spring win, the Gaels' No. 6 player earned a 6-2, 6-4 win over Krishna Jana to put Saint Mary's up 3-0.
Navy (13-7) got its lone win of the day on court 5, but Saint Mary's bounced right back and clinched the win with Weber's 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Mark at No. 1. Action on courts 3 and 4 went to a super tie-breaker and the Gaels emerged victorious in both cases, with Lagman winning 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) over Walker Sims at No. 3 and Hunt pulling out a 7-6, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8) over Daniel at No. 3.
Saint Mary's (3-9) isn't finished this week. West Coast Conference play resumes Saturday when the Gaels travel to Stockton to take on Pacific at 1 p.m. Action returns to Korth Tennis Complex next weekend when SMC hosts Gonzaga and Portland.
