Sunday, January 14
Seattle, WA
11:00 AM
University of Washington
7
vs
0
Idaho
Huskies Open Season Sweeping Vandals
January 14, 2024 | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE – The Husky men's tennis team took care of business in its 2024 season and home opener, earning a 7-0 sweep over Idaho at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Dawgs did not drop a set in the first match, and withstood an early challenge from the Vandals in the doubles point.
Second-year Head Coach Rahim Esmail likes the work the Dawgs have continued to put in, and was excited to see that work finally get tested in a match setting.
"First match of the year, you've done all the work and trained and got to this point, and you want to put the product out there and see what things are working well and what adjustments you need to make," said Esmail.
"It's always a building process whether you're starting your second season as a coach or your twentieth. Every year is new and every year brings new players and new talent. But this group is really bought in to what we want the culture to be like. This team is doing a really good job of putting in efforts towards making it even better. I really like where this team is at. What we do this season is totally up to them; we'll continue to grow. We still feel we're the underdogs and we're going to have to continue to build from within."
In doubles, the Huskies' 12th-ranked tandem of Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn breezed to a 6-0 win at the No. 1 position in barely twenty minutes. But Idaho took a lead on both courts two and three, and had simultaneous match points on both courts to be on the verge of taking the point.
But both Husky duos fought off the match point chances and won deciding points to get back into it. At the No. 2 position, Nedim Suko teamed with recent addition Ivan Sodan in his first NCAA match, and they finished a comeback from 2-5 down to win, 7-5, to clinch the point. Han-Chih Lin and Brett Pearson were up 6-5 at No. 3 when their match was suspended.
"We got off to a slow start on a couple courts in doubles while we had an extremely fast start on court one," said Esmail. "They're our most experienced doubles team and it showed how comfortable they are with each other, and the other guys need a few more matches under their belts to get as comfortable as Denis and Cesar. But they did a really good job in the end gutting things out. The last 15-20 minutes of doubles were really good. Singles the guys took care of business, especially the upper-classmen, they jumped out to quick starts and had convincing wins."
Zharyn manned the No. 1 singles spot to start the year, and he took a 6-2, 6-2 win over Taiyo Kurata. Bouchelaghem started at No. 2, and he had the fastest victory in singles, beating Sebastian Medica, 6-1, 6-2. Senior Han-Chih Lin posted a 6-1, 6-2 win as well, at No. 3, over Yu-Shun Lai.
At No. 4 singles, Suko beat Mario Duron, 6-2, 6-0. Pearson at No. 6 singles started his sophomore year winning 6-2, 6-3 over Alex Asenov. That left the new freshman Sodan trying to finish the sweep at No. 5 singles. After pulling out the first set in a tiebreak, 8-6, Sodan won another tight second set, 7-5, over Matteo Masala, for his first dual match win.
Esmail said of Sodan, "It's your first college match, you've been here for two weeks, you're experiencing a lot of different emotions out there. That's what these matches are for, to learn to be in those situations, learn to manage them, and see what you do well and see what you adjustments you need to make. That's why we play a lot of these matches early on, to be put in those situations and see how they handle them."
The Huskies will be back in action next Saturday, Jan. 20, hosting Portland State back in the Nordstrom.
Washington Men's Tennis
January 14, 2024
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center
Washington – 7
Idaho – 0
Singles
1. Dzianis Zharyn (UW) def. Taiyo Kurata (UI) – 6-2, 6-2
2. Cesar Bouchelaghem (UW) def. Sebastian Medica (UI) – 6-1, 6-2
3. Han-Chih Lin (UW) def. Yu-Shun Lai (UI) – 6-1, 6-2
4. Nedim Suko (UW) def. Mario Duron (UI) – 6-2, 6-0
5. Ivan Sodan (UW) def. Matteo Masala (UI) – 7-6 (6), 7-5
6. Brett Pearson (UW) def. Alex Asenov (UI) – 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5
Doubles
1. (#12) Zharyn/Bouchelaghem (UW) def. Salvador/Duron (UI) – 6-0
2. Suko/Sodan (UW) def. Kurata/Lai (UI) – 7-5
3. Lin/Pearson (UW) vs. Asenov/Medica (UI) – 6-5, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Second-year Head Coach Rahim Esmail likes the work the Dawgs have continued to put in, and was excited to see that work finally get tested in a match setting.
"First match of the year, you've done all the work and trained and got to this point, and you want to put the product out there and see what things are working well and what adjustments you need to make," said Esmail.
"It's always a building process whether you're starting your second season as a coach or your twentieth. Every year is new and every year brings new players and new talent. But this group is really bought in to what we want the culture to be like. This team is doing a really good job of putting in efforts towards making it even better. I really like where this team is at. What we do this season is totally up to them; we'll continue to grow. We still feel we're the underdogs and we're going to have to continue to build from within."
In doubles, the Huskies' 12th-ranked tandem of Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn breezed to a 6-0 win at the No. 1 position in barely twenty minutes. But Idaho took a lead on both courts two and three, and had simultaneous match points on both courts to be on the verge of taking the point.
But both Husky duos fought off the match point chances and won deciding points to get back into it. At the No. 2 position, Nedim Suko teamed with recent addition Ivan Sodan in his first NCAA match, and they finished a comeback from 2-5 down to win, 7-5, to clinch the point. Han-Chih Lin and Brett Pearson were up 6-5 at No. 3 when their match was suspended.
"We got off to a slow start on a couple courts in doubles while we had an extremely fast start on court one," said Esmail. "They're our most experienced doubles team and it showed how comfortable they are with each other, and the other guys need a few more matches under their belts to get as comfortable as Denis and Cesar. But they did a really good job in the end gutting things out. The last 15-20 minutes of doubles were really good. Singles the guys took care of business, especially the upper-classmen, they jumped out to quick starts and had convincing wins."
Zharyn manned the No. 1 singles spot to start the year, and he took a 6-2, 6-2 win over Taiyo Kurata. Bouchelaghem started at No. 2, and he had the fastest victory in singles, beating Sebastian Medica, 6-1, 6-2. Senior Han-Chih Lin posted a 6-1, 6-2 win as well, at No. 3, over Yu-Shun Lai.
At No. 4 singles, Suko beat Mario Duron, 6-2, 6-0. Pearson at No. 6 singles started his sophomore year winning 6-2, 6-3 over Alex Asenov. That left the new freshman Sodan trying to finish the sweep at No. 5 singles. After pulling out the first set in a tiebreak, 8-6, Sodan won another tight second set, 7-5, over Matteo Masala, for his first dual match win.
Esmail said of Sodan, "It's your first college match, you've been here for two weeks, you're experiencing a lot of different emotions out there. That's what these matches are for, to learn to be in those situations, learn to manage them, and see what you do well and see what you adjustments you need to make. That's why we play a lot of these matches early on, to be put in those situations and see how they handle them."
The Huskies will be back in action next Saturday, Jan. 20, hosting Portland State back in the Nordstrom.
Washington Men's Tennis
January 14, 2024
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center
Washington – 7
Idaho – 0
Singles
1. Dzianis Zharyn (UW) def. Taiyo Kurata (UI) – 6-2, 6-2
2. Cesar Bouchelaghem (UW) def. Sebastian Medica (UI) – 6-1, 6-2
3. Han-Chih Lin (UW) def. Yu-Shun Lai (UI) – 6-1, 6-2
4. Nedim Suko (UW) def. Mario Duron (UI) – 6-2, 6-0
5. Ivan Sodan (UW) def. Matteo Masala (UI) – 7-6 (6), 7-5
6. Brett Pearson (UW) def. Alex Asenov (UI) – 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5
Doubles
1. (#12) Zharyn/Bouchelaghem (UW) def. Salvador/Duron (UI) – 6-0
2. Suko/Sodan (UW) def. Kurata/Lai (UI) – 7-5
3. Lin/Pearson (UW) vs. Asenov/Medica (UI) – 6-5, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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