VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Norfolk State men's tennis came excruciatingly close to a milestone victory on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-3 to Navy in a back-and-forth battle.
The teams last met during the 2022 season, a 7-0 win for the Midshipmen. Saturday's fight displayed how far the Norfolk State tennis program has come, with the Spartans coming a single point away from clinching the match on multiple occasions.
The Spartans won the opening doubles point in thrilling fashion. After losing on Court 3, the Spartans evened things by winning 6-2 on Court 2. The doubles point came down to
Vladisav Gorbatenko and
Frederick McRae at the top position, with the Norfolk State duo earning a 6-4 victory.
Taking a 1-0 lead into singles, the Spartans increased the gap to two quickly.
Antoni Pankowski defeated Nicholas Nguyen 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 at the No. 5 slot, the freshman's third consecutive singles win.
Steve Nguyen got the Midshipmen on the board, taking down
Deniz Okyay 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 2 slot. Navy evened the match 2-2 with a win at No. 6 singles, Zach Quattro eclipsing
Boris Lunin 7-6, 6-4.
Jakub Solarski pulled the Spartans back in front with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 comeback victory at the No. 3 position. Navy responded with a come-from-behind win of its own, though, as Tommy Kim defeated
Frederick McRae 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 4 position.
The match came down to the top court, as the team's best talents battled things out. After winning the first set against Herrick Legaspi 6-3, Gorbatenko lost the second by the same score. The third set went into a tiebreak at six games apiece, with Legaspi gutting out an 8-6 victory in a nailbiting finish.
Norfolk State will look to bounce back immediately, facing Longwood at 2 p.m. on Sunday at NSU Tennis Complex.
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