Washington Handles Vandals, 7-0

SEATTLE – A decisive 7-0 sweep at home over Idaho this evening sets the Husky men's tennis team up well for some big matches against conference opponents coming up. The Dawgs improved to 4-2 on the year today, winning 15 of the 16 total sets against the Vandals (0-2).
 
"Really happy to have this opportunity today," said Head Coach Matt Anger. "Some of the matches might look lopsided but there were a lot of good points and close games. I think Idaho is going to keep doing better, it was just their second match, but I also think this was a good showing by us. We were playing tougher and giving away few points."
 
Washington swept through doubles to take the 1-0 lead. Ewen Lumsden and Han-Chih Lin were 6-1 winners at No. 3, then Thibault Cancel and Clement Chidekh had a 6-3 win at No. 2 to clinch. Jack Davis and Alexis Alvarez earned a 6-4 win at the top spot over Idaho's Bascon/Masala.
 
In singles, Jack Pulliam raced to a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles over Alex Asenov for the first point. Sophomore newcomer Clement Chidekh kept rolling as well, as he improved to 6-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 over Francisco Bascon. 65th-ranked Jack Davis had the clinching point, 6-1, 6-3, over Althaf Dhaifullah at No. 2.
 
Straight set victories from Lumsden at No. 3 and Lin at No. 4 followed shortly thereafter. The only third set came at No. 5 singles, where Thibault Cancel split sets with Vivek Ramesh. In a super-tiebreak in lieu of the full third set, Cancel rallied from down 3-8, and saved one match point, to win 12-10 and complete the 7-0 sweep.
 
The Huskies now will head to Eugene for a non-conference dual against Oregon this Sunday, Feb. 21, at 12 p.m. Then next week UW begins the official Pac-12 slate with road matches at Arizona and Arizona State.
 
"These next two weekends, when we talk about being out of tennis for eleven months, this is what we've been out of," said Anger, looking ahead to Sunday. "I'm eager to get down to Eugene, glad we were able to reschedule the match, so we have the opportunity."
 

February 19, 2021
Nordstrom Tennis Center | Seattle
 
Washington – 7
Idaho – 0
 
Singles
1. Clement Chidekh (UW) def. Francisco Bascon (UI), 6-1, 6-0
2. (#65) Jack Davis (UW) def. Althaf Dhaifullah (UI), 6-1, 6-3
3. Ewen Lumsden (UW) def. Bruno Casino (UI), 6-0, 6-2
4. Han-Chih Lin (UW) def. Matteo Masala (UI), 6-3, 6-2
5. Thibault Cancel (UW) def. Vivek Ramesh (UI), 7-5, 3-6, (12-10)
6. Jack Pulliam (UW) def. Alex Asenov (UI), 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
 
Doubles
1. Davis/Alvarez (UW) def. Bascon/Masala (UI), 6-4
2. Cancel/Chidekh (UW) def. Dhaifullah/Casino (UI), 6-3
3. Lumsden/Lin (UW) def. Asenov/Salvador Civera (UI), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1