Zach Anderson

The SDSU men’s tennis team competed in the Orlando Classic in Orlando, Fla., on March 9 through March 13. The Jackrabbits went 1-4 over the week, collecting a win against La Salle but losing to Connecticut, Bryant (R.I), Valparaiso (Ind.) and St. Joseph’s.

March 9- Connecticut 6, SDSU 1

SDSU junior Corey Paluch was the only Jackrabbit to notch a win against UConn, as he defeated Joe Goldstein 6-4 and 7-5. Michael Engdahl teamed up with Paluch to provide a close finish against the Huskies team of Scott Warden and Andrew Marcus but ended up losing 9-8.

March 10- Bryant 5, SDSU 2

Paluch won his singles match when he beat Bryant’s Cristian Balestrieri 6-4, 7-5 to open up the match. Bryant’s Jose Rodriquez took three sets to beat the Jacks Engdahl 6-7, 6-1, 1-0. The only other Jackrabbit victory was in doubles play, as the team of Evan Sims and Justin Pyle defeated the Bulldog team of Daniel Cournoyer and Andres Orobitg.

March 10- Valparaiso 5, SDSU 2

Against Valpo, Pyle and Paluch won singles matches for the Jacks. Pyle defeated Phidias Fortune 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets to get the win. Paluch won his singles match in the third set losing the first set 4-6, 6-4, 10-4 over Tom Litscher and then teamed up with Engdahl in doubles action to defeat Valparaiso’s Litscher and Alex Lau 8-6.

March 11-SDSU 4, La Salle 3

SDSU was tied 3-3 with La Salle, and Paluch defeated his opponent 7-6, 7-5, 6-2 to give SDSU its lone team victory of the week.

March 13- St. Joseph’s 5, SDSU 2

In the final match of the Florida trip, Paluch notched another singles victory, winning 6-3 and the second set by default as his opponent Pat Adams had to quit due to an injury. Paluch went 5-0 in singles matches for the week and won the doubles match, with Engdahl winning 8-2 over the Hawk’s team of Phil Bayliss and Michael Stauble.

“Corey’s performance was the best by any tennis player in decades,” SDSU head tennis coach Don Hanson said. “To win five straight matches against high quality D-I opponents is extraordinary. Corey’s effort while injured is an example of his courage and will to win. I could not be more pleased by his performance but also the performance of all the players on the trip to Florida, as they all played hard, and the win over La Salle was an example of their improvement as the week went on.”

SDSU moved to 5-7 for duals on the season and will return to the court on March 21 against St. John’s (Minn.) and St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minn.