Air Force Academy
Utah St
Falcons fall to Utah State, 4-3, in Season Opener
1/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 16, 2004
Air Force's men's tennis team lost its opening match of the 2004 spring season Friday afternoon, losing to Utah State, 4-3, in Logan, Utah. The Falcons are 0-1 and will face Idaho State on Saturday in Pocatello, Idaho.
The Falcons jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point with victories at the number one and number two positions. The Falcon's No. 1 duo of sophomore Shannon Buck and junior Tyler McClung defeated the Aggie tandem of Hannes Schenk and Hungsoon Park, 8-3. At No. 2 doubles, senior Justin Mancinelli and junior Chris Dong pulled out a 9-8 decision over USU's Jonah Nelson and Roshan Rasekhi. The Aggies' No. 3 team of Jason Trask and Ryan Bair defeated sophomore Trevor Johnson and freshman Justin Lau, 8-3.
Singles action saw five of the six matches go three sets as Air Force could only muster wins at No. 1 and No. 6. Buck, ranked No. 35 in the country, rallied to defeat Park in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and Lau beat Bair, 6-2, 7-6, at No. 6.
Two matches went the distance, ending in third-set tiebreakers. Trask defeated Mancinelli in a terrific match, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, at the No. 4 spot, while Nelson downed Dong, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 at No. 5.
Rasekhi and Shenk also won in three-sets to wrap up the match for the Aggies. Rasekhi beat Johnson at the No. 2 spot, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, then Schenk posted a three-set win over McClung, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, at No. 3.
Utah State 4, Air Force 3
Singles
1. Shannon Buck (AFA) def. Hungsoon Park, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Roshan Rasekhi (USU) def. Trevor Johnson, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
3. Hannes Schenk (USU) def. Tyler McClung, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
4. Jason Trask (USU) def. Justin Mancinelli, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6
5. Jonah Nelson (USU) def. Chris Dong, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6
6. Justin Lau (AFA) def. Ryan Bair, 6-2, 7-6
Doubles
1. Buck/McClung (AFA) def. Park/Schenk, 8-3
2. Mancinelli/Dong (AFA) def. Nelson/Rasekhi, 9-8
3. Trask/Bair (USU) def. Johnson/Lau, 8-3
