Redbirds Drop First Match at Bash At The Beach To UNC Wilmington

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Illinois State men's tennis team began their annual spring break trip on Wednesday in North Carolina, as the Redbirds took on UNC Wilmington in their first match at the Bash at the Beach. The hosts got off to a good start and picked up a win over the Redbirds, 4-1, at the UNCW Courts.

UNC Wilmington took the early lead by securing the doubles point to start the match. After win at No. 1, the Redbirds knotted things up at 1-1 with a win by Dominic Anderson and Dominick Cuchran over Harold Huens and Davide Innocenti by a score of 6-3. However, the Seahawks were able to get a win on court No. 2 to take two out of three matches for the first point of the match.

The Seahawks kept things going in singles and extended the lead to 2-0 with a win by Gabriel Hurtado at the No. 4 spot. However, Illinois State's Nam Pham fought back to win in straight sets over Reece Falck at the No. 1 spot 6-4, 6-3 to trim the lead to 2-1. Unfortunately for the Redbirds, wins by the Seahawks at No. 6 and No. 2 in straight sets made the score 4-1 and clinched the victory for UNCW.

The Redbirds are back in action at the Battle at the Beach on Friday at 9 a.m. against Youngstown State.

FINAL SCORE: UNC Wilmington (4), Illinois State (1)

Doubles:
No. 1 Reece Falck/Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) def. Adrian Dibildox/Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 6-2
No. 2 Alex Degabriele/Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) def. Emiliano Gonzales/Tin Ostro (ILS) 6-4
No. 3 Dominic Anderson/Dominick Cuchran (ILS) def. Harold Huens/Davide Innocenti (UNCW) 6-3

Singles:
No. 1 Nam Pham (ILS) vs. Reece Falck (UNCW) 6-4, 6-3 
No. 2 Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) def. Arvid Hjalte (ILS) 6-4, 6-2 
No. 3 Richard Trey Mallory (UNCW) vs. Tomas Valencia (ILS) 6-3, 5-4 unfinished 
No. 4 Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) def. Melker Isaksson (ILS) 6-1, 6-3 
No. 5 Davide Innocenti (UNCW) vs. Adrian Dibildox (ILS) 6-4, 5-4 unfinished 
No. 6 Alex Degabriele (UNCW) def. Emiliano Gonzales (ILS) 6-3, 6-4

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