PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Duquesne rallied to win their final three singles matches as Denison men's tennis suffered a 4-3 loss to the Dukes on Saturday afternoon to open the season in Pittsburgh.
Opening play on the doubles court, the Big Red took the early advantage with a pair of wins in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. On the top court, Tim Cianciola and Jack Bulger defeated Alex Mascioli and Jin Dassanayake 6-4 while Vlad Rotnov and Akshat Agarwal took down Arnas Sabonis and Joey Matthews 7-6 (8) on court No. 2. With NCAA Division I rules in play, Denison's two wins in doubles gave them a one-point advantage entering singles action.
In singles action, Cianciola and Bulger put the Big Red ahead 3-1 after Cianciola claimed a second-court victory over Jared Isaacs 6-2, 6-1 and Bulger took down Dominic Isaacs 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Trailing by two matches, the Dukes rallied back with three-consecutive wins from Sabonis, Matthews, and Graham Conron in No. 4-6 singles.
Denison will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 16 when they take on the 14th-ranked Carnegie Mellon Tartans at 1 p.m. in Youngstown, Ohio.
