MMI Tigers Subdue Gadsden State Cardinals, 6-3, in Men’s Tennis

Marion, AL—The Tigers recorded wins in six of the nine matches played on Sunday afternoon to defeat the visiting Gadsden State Community College Cardinals, 6-3.  The Tigers forged to a 2-1 lead by winning the doubles matches on courts 1 and 2 and falling 6-0, 6-4 in the doubles match on court 3.  In singles play, the Tigers posted wins on courts 1 through 4 and dropped matches on courts 5 and 6 to round out the scoring on the afternoon.

Opening the scoring for the Tigers was the No. 1 doubles team of Romar Hernandez and Jake McDonough.  Both played solid tennis in their 6-2, 6-1 win to record MMI's first point of the day.  After the Tigers lost in straight sets on court 3 to even the match at 1-1, the Tiger pair of Kaiser De Leon and Javier de Claire pulled out a 6-1, 6-4 win to secure the 2-1 lead going into singles play.

The Gadsden Cardinals knotted the match again with a win on court 6.  Kaiser De Leon (6-1, 6-0) and Romar Hernandez (6-2, 6-1) scored easy victories to put the Tigers back in the lead for good at 4-2.  The Cardinals, however, inched closer with a win on court 5.  With the score standing at 4-3, the Tigers pounced on the last two matches.  Jake McDonough played some smart tennis to win, 6-0, 6-3, and Javier de Claire avenged an early-season loss to Dakota Harris, winning 6-4, 7-6 (5).

The Tigers remain at home to play the Faulkner State Community College Sun Chiefs on Wednesday, April 2.  The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.