Tennis Takes Down Penn State Brandywine

Trailing NCAA Division III member 4-3 with two matches in the balance, the Williamson Men's Tennis team needed both matches to break their way in order to score an upset win over host Penn State Brandywine. Well, break their way they did, as seniors Francisco Torres-Vega and Victor Valentine both came through for the Mechanics to give them a thrilling 5-4 win over the Lions.

In doubles action that started the match, Williamson dropped two of the three doubles matches.  The lone winners were the first doubles team of Torres-Vega and Chris Dudley, who won 8-4.

Trailing 2-1 heading into Singles play, Williamson fell behind 3-1 early, as Alex Rivera lost at #3 Singles in straight sets.  #6 Singles player Richard Meo though made up for that, as he quickly dispatched his opponent in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. 

Penn State Brandywine would go back up by two, as #2 Singles Chis Dudley lost, leaving Williamson in a 4-2 hole.  Undaunted, Gashaw Young got Williamson to within one at 4-3, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

That left the match in the hands of Torres-Vega and Valentine. Playing #1 Singles, Torres-Vega played the match of his collegiate career, as he took down Elias Denesh, 6-2, 6-3. 

Torres-Vega's win tied the match at 4-4 and set the stage for Valentine at #5 Singles.  After dropping the first set to Louis Trolli, 6-4, he came back to take the second set by a score of 6-3.  He then fell behind 3-2 in the third set before roaring back to take the next four games to win 6-4 and give the Mechanics the win, their first win since 2019.

"I'm so proud of our guys.  They have improved so much and gave it their all today.  They fought hard to the end and pulled out a great team win today," shared Williamson head coach Margaret "Weemie" Kingham. 

Results:

1^st Doubles:  Francisco Torres-Vega/Chris Dudley WTC def. Raj Mamidala/Jonathan Parsons 8-4

2^nd Doubles: Julian Grossman/Louis Trolli PSUB def. Victor Valentine/Rich Meo 8-4

3^rd Doubles: Ellias Demosh/Aaron Poon PSUB def. Alex Rivera/Connor Gordon 8-3

1^st Singles:  Francisco Torres-Vega WTC def. Ellias Demosh 6-2, 6-3

2^nd Singles: Raj Mamidala PSUB def. Chris Dudley 6-0, 6-3

3^rd Singles: Jonathan Parsons PSUB def. Alex Rivera 6-0, 6-0

4^th Singles:  Gashaw Young WTC def. Julian Grossman 6-3, 6-1

5^th Singles: Victor Valentine WTC def. Louis Trolli 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

6^th Singles: Richard Meo WTC def. Aaron Poon 6-1, 6-2.

Order of finish: #3, #6, #2, #4, #1, #5