Lehigh Sweeps Loyola, Moves On to PL Semifinals

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Lehigh men’s tennis team defeated Loyola Maryland in the Patriot League quarterfinals in Annapolis, Md. on Friday night. The Mountain Hawks swept the Greyhounds 4-0 to move onto the semifinals where they will face Army on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

Lehigh continued its streak of winning the doubles point to secure the early 1-0 lead. Seniors Zack Elliott and Gary Fishkin earned Lehigh’s first win of the day on Friday. The duo defeated Loyola’s George Cavo and Skyler Gates 6-1 at the No. 1 spot. 

In the second flight, first-year Marc Blekhman and junior Jeremy Learner secured the doubles point for the Mountain Hawks. The duo defeated Matt Cardano and Edik Pribitkin 6-1 to clinch the 1-0 lead. 

Going into singles play, the Mountain Hawks showed no signs of slowing down. Coming off of his doubles win, Learner secured Lehigh’s first singles win of the match. The junior defeated Loyola’s Liam Rompere 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 5 spot. 

Elliott was the next Mountain Hawk to secure a win during singles play. At the No. 1 spot, the senior defeated Skyler Gates 6-1 in two sets to secure a career and team-high 13th win of the season. 

With a 3-0 lead and plenty of tennis left to be played, junior Michael Bukhalo put the team on his back, clinching Lehigh’s third consecutive quarterfinals win. Bukhalo defeated Loyola’s Ryan Boland 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 6 spot to earn his ninth win of the season. 

Lehigh will return to Annapolis to battle Army at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Patriot League semifinals. The Mountain Hawks defeated the Black Knights 4-0 earlier in the season on the Ulrich Varsity Tennis Courts. 

Doubles: 

1. Elliott / Fishkin (Lehigh) def. Cavo / Gates (Loyola) 6-1
2. Blekhman / Learner (Lehigh) def. Cardano / Pribitkin (Loyola) 6-1
3. Kleiman / Bukhalo (Lehigh) vs. Rompere / Davey (Loyola)  4-3 DNF

Order of Finish: 1, 2 

Singles: 

1. Zack Elliott (Lehigh) def. Skyler Gates (Loyola) 6-1, 6-1
2. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) vs. Edik Pribitkin (Loyola) 6-3, 3-4 DNF
3. Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) vs. Matt Cardano (Loyola) 6-1, 1-2, DNF
4. Gary Fishkin (Lehigh) vs. George Cavo (Loyola) 6-0, 3-5 DNF
5. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) def. Liam Rompere (Loyola) 6-0, 6-3
6. Michael Bukhalo (Lehigh) def. Ryan Boland (Loyola) 6-4, 6-0

Order of Finish: 5, 1, 6