HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University men's tennis team defeated Penn State Behrend, 6-1 in its first dual match of the 2026-27 season on Tuesday evening from the indoor tennis courts at Houghton University.
"Big win for us today! I am really proud of our effort up and down the lineup." Head Coach
Jordan Crouch said. "Ricky [Alvarez Janik] played so well at first singles. André [López Jiménez] was awesome and provided so much energy in his matches. Artur [Idrisov], Breece [Erickson], Josh [Erickson] and Anlun [Zwerver] dominated their singles matches for us. Doubles was strong. Really happy with our effort and enthusiasm today. Not bad for a first match of the fall! On to Thiel on Friday. Let's go Saxons!"
Breece Erickson (Goshen, IN/Bethany Christian) and
Josh Erickson (Falconer, NY/Falconer) earned the first portion of the doubles point on Tuesday, clinching a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
André López Jiménez (Mexico City, Mexico/PrepaTec Esmeralda) and
Artur Idrisov (Ufa Bashkortostan, Russia/Erudit School) closed out the doubles point with a 6-3 win at No. 2.
Breece got the first singles point of the evening as he won at No. 4, taking home the 6-0, 6-1 win. Idrisov followed shortly to make it a 3-0 match, winning at No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 score. López Jiménez secured the dual-match victory with a 6-2, 6-0 win from the No. 2 lineup spot.
Josh and
Anlun Zwerver (Koog Aan De Zaan, The Netherlands/Blaise Pascal College) tacked on insurance wins from No. 6 and No. 5 with scores of 6-2, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-2, respectively.
The only point that the Lions (0-1, 0-0 AMCC) picked up was a three-set tiebreak win at No. 1 over
Ricardo Alvarez Janik (La Orotava, Spain/Colegio Casa Azul). Alvarez Janik won the first set, 6-2 but fell in the second with a matching score and ultimately was outlasted by Behrend's top player, falling in a 7-10 third set tiebreak.
The Saxons will next travel on Friday, October 23 for a 3:00pm match at Thiel College to close out the fall semester for them.
-- Swords Forward Saxons --
