Score: UNCW 5, VCU 2
Location: Richmond, Va. (Thalhimer Tennis Center)
Records: VCU 5-10 (2-0 Atlantic 10), UNCW 6-8
 
The Short Story: VCU Men's Tennis fell 5-2 to UNCW Sunday afternoon at the Thalhimer Tennis Center, closing out the weekend with a 1-1 mark.
 
Quote From Coach Kutrovsky: "We needed to do a better job in the big moments today and gave away some opportunities. On the plus side we put ourselves to be in those big moments, now we have to capitalize on them. Some progress from the weekend and as always there is work to be done. We have a couple of good matches coming up that we will prepare for."
 
Opening Serve: The Rams battled throughout the afternoon, but UNCW secured the doubles point and picked up four singles victories to take the match. VCU showed resilience across several courts, highlighted by strong performances from Patrik Petera and Gevorg Mnatsakanyan.
 
Doubles

• VCU dropped the doubles point to open the match, as UNCW secured wins on Courts 1 and 3. On Court 2, Alfred Almasi and Nicolo Consonni were in a strong position, leading 6-5 before the match went unfinished.

Singles

• On Court 6, Patrik Petera put together an impressive comeback performance. After falling behind early in the first set, Petera battled back point-by-point, working from a 0-2 deficit to 3-2, then 4-4, before closing the set 7-5. He carried that momentum into the second set, staying in control and finishing off a straight-sets win to give VCU its first point of the match.
• Gevorg Mnatsakanyan delivered another impressive performance on Court 3. After dominating the opening set 6-0, he faced pushback in the second but responded with a composed third set. Mnatsakanyan served well down the stretch and held firm in key moments, closing out a 7-5 third-set victory to secure the Rams' second point of the afternoon.
• Erwann Bouchet, Nicolo Consonni, and Alfred Almasi each pushed their matches to three sets, but ultimately came up short in close finishes.

Singles Results

1. Lukas Steffen (UNCW) def. Erwann Bouchet (VCU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
2. Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) def. Nicolo Consonni (VCU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Gevorg Mnatsakanyan (VCU) def. Jordi Domenech (UNCW) 6-0, 2-6, 7-5
4. Oscar Baumgartner (UNCW) def. Alfred Almasi (VCU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Tomas Marin (UNCW) def. Leon Zaorski (VCU) 7-5, 7-5
6. Patrik Petera (VCU) def. Brady Hussey (UNCW) 7-5, 6-1

Doubles Results

1. Alex de Gabriele / Brady Hussey (UNCW) def. Erwann Bouchet / Gevorg Mnatsakanyan (VCU) 6-2
2. Alfred Almasi / Nicolo Consonni (VCU) vs. William Dean / Lukas Steffen (UNCW) 6-5 (Unfinished)
3. Jordi Domenech / Tomas Marin (UNCW) def. Mats Bredschneijder / Leon Zaorski (VCU) 6-3

Order of Finish: Doubles 3, 1 Singles 6, 1, 3, 2, 5, 4
 
Up Next: The Rams head on the road next week for matchups against Wichita State and Tulsa.