Anderson Men’s Tennis HCAC Semifinal Preview

The fifth-seeded Anderson University men's tennis team faces off with top-seeded Hanover College in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Nicholasville, Ky. at Top Seed Tennis Club.

During the regular season, Anderson (9-8) fell to Hanover (8-6) by a score of 9-0. Of the three doubles matches and six singles matches, Hanover was held to zero match shutouts and one set shutout.

Anderson advanced past Franklin College (7-14) in the Opening Round of the HCAC Tournament by a score of 6-3 after falling to the Grizzlies 5-4 just four days earlier.

INTERVIEW WITH COACH MATT MOORE

What is your takeaway on how we adjusted and competed against Franklin?

• I thought we did a great job adjusting our level of intensity against Franklin. When we played them on Saturday, we came out extremely flat and we were not able to recover throughout the day. I also thought we did a much better job executing patterns that maximized our strengths in singles and put them on the defensive. We were also able to win a lot of the big points on deuce and on break points.
• I really want to commend a couple of our players. Sarvar Muzaffarov picked up a big win at No. 2 Singles. He handled the emotions of the match very well. Franklin tried getting under his skin and was not successful. Chakib Macur was rock solid winning at both No. 1 Singles and No. 1 Doubles. The start of the match was Peter Hallam. He got cleared to play after a 23-day injury battle. With Colton Stevens out with an injury, we needed a big performance. Just like a catfish is right twice a day – he was too. He had huge wins at No. 1 Doubles and No. 6 Singles.

What are your expectations of Hanover?

• Our primary expectation is to have fun. The pressure is on Hanover. Few would say we should beat them. Thus, I want us to play loose and free tennis. If we can do that and maintain our poise and intensity, we will be in a great position. We also need an interim belief that we can beat them. We showed in the regular season we can be competitive.

What do we need to do to be successful?

• Success is a byproduct of what we've done all season; being analytical, having a willingness to try new approaches and fighting until the end. Upsets happen all of the time in sport. They require faith, playing our best matches and putting pressure on a great opponent on a match that could just as easily end their season.

A LOOK AT THE RAVENS

Singles Leaders

• Chakib Madcur – 6-4 (5-3 at No. 1, 1-1 at No. 2)
• Sarvar Muzaffarov – 6-5 (2-1 at No. 1, 4-4 at No. 2)
• Cory Evans – 9-7 (2-0 at No. 1, 2-2 at No. 2, 4-1 at No. 3, 0-4 at No. 4, 1-0 at No. 5)
• Dylan Lemon – 9-6 (1-1 at No. 3, 6-3, at No. 4, 1-2 at No. 5, 1-0 at No. 6)
• Sam Songer – 11-3 (2-0 at No. 2, 2-2 at No. 3, 1-0 at No. 4, 3-1 at No. 5, 3-0 at No. 6) (T-4 in HCAC in Singles Wins)
• Peter Hallam – 5-1 (1-0 at No. 2, 1-0 at No. 4, 2-1 at No. 5, 1-0 at No. 6)
• Colton Stevens – 1-8 (1-3 at No. 1, 0-5 at No. 3)
• Brant Brouillette – 5-2 (3-1 at No. 5, 2-1 at No. 6)

Doubles Leaders

• Cory Evans – 14-4 (2-0 at Tournaments, 5-0 at No. 1, 7-3 at No. 2, 0-1 at No. 3) (2nd in HCAC in Doubles Wins)
• Chakib Madcur – 7-4 (7-4 at No. 1)
• Dylan Lemon – 11-6 (2-0 at Tournaments, 2-3 at No. 1, 6-1 at No. 2, 1-2 at No. 3) (T-7 in HCAC in Doubles Wins)
• Sam Songer – 10-6 (2-0 at Tournaments, 6-2 at No. 2, 2-4 at No. 3)
• Peter Hallam – 4-2 (1-0 at No. 1, 2-1 at No. 2, 1-1 at No. 3)
• Brant Brouillette – 3-5 (1-0 at No. 2, 2-5 at No. 3)
• Colton Stevens – 7-7 (2-0 at Tournaments, 4-6 at No. 1, 1-1 at No. 2)

A LOOK AT THE PANTHERS

Singles Leaders

• Joey Keal – 8-6 (0-1 at Tournaments, 8-5 at No. 1)
• Jedrek Brodzki – 6-6 (5-2 at No. 2, 1-4 at No. 3)
• Abhay Singh – 7-5 (1-0 at No. 1, 5-1 at No. 3, 1-3 at No. 4, 0-1 at No. 5)
• Vincent Jaouen – 3-5 (1-0 at No. 3, 2-0 at No. 4, 0-5 at No. 5)
• Ilya Gromochenko – 8-4 (1-0 at No. 2, 1-0 at No. 4, 2-0 at No. 5, 4-4 at No. 6)
• Connor Garrison – 1-2 (1-1 at No. 4, 0-1 at No. 5)

Doubles Leaders

• Joey Keal – 9-6 (0-2 at Tournaments, 4-1 at No. 1, 5-3 at No. 2)
• Charley Williams – 8-5 (3-2 at No. 1, 4-0 at No. 2, 1-3 at No. 3)
• Abhay Singh – 7-6 (1-1 at No. 1, 5-2 at No. 2, 1-3 at No. 3)
• Jedrek Brodzki – 4-8 (1-7 at No. 1, 3-0 at No. 2, 0-1 at No. 3)
• Rodolfo Jacome – 5-2 (1-0 at No. 1, 4-2 at No. 3)
• Vincent Jaouen – 3-3 (3-3 at No. 3)
• Connor Garrison – 2-5 (0-1 at No. 1, 2-3 at No. 2, 0-1 at No. 3)