Butler opened BIG EAST play with a tightly contested road match against DePaul, ultimately falling short 4-3. Five sets were decided by tiebreaks, which is a season high. The loss drops Butler to 3-7 (0-1) on the season.
On court one of doubles play, the duo of
Riccardo Baldi and
Rahulniket Konakanchi picked up their second straight win. DePaul took the win on court two, setting up a crucial match on court three.
Nicholas Balthazor and
Arnesh Singh fought hard, but DePaul took the point with a 7-6 (1) victory.
In singles play, four of the six matches went to three sets.
Siddhartha Lama set the tone early for Butler with a two-set victory on court six.
Riccardo Baldi and
Nicolas Arts won on courts two and three, respectively. DePaul was victorious on courts one and four which evened the score at 3-3 with court five still to be decided.
Nicholas Shirley battled hard, winning the first set 6-4, but he fell short in sets two and three. DePaul secured the final point, clinching a 4-3 victory for the Blue Demons.
The Bulldogs return to action next weekend with two matches in as many days. They'll travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to take on St. John's on Friday, Feb. 28, followed by a bout with Cleveland State on Saturday, March 1. Both matches are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
DEPAUL 4, BUTLER 3
Singles (order of finish: 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 5)
1. Alejandro Gandini (DEP) def.
Ronin Kasday (BUT), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3
2.
Riccardo Baldi (BUT) def. Andy Hadziabdic (DEP), 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4
3.
Nicolas Arts (BUT) def. Pablo Torres Almeida (DEP), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5)
4. Sebastian Medica (DEP) def.
Rahulniket Konakanchi (BUT), 7-5, 7-5
5. Augusto Pardo Cano (DEP) def.
Nicholas Shirley (BUT), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2)
6.
Siddhartha Lama (BUT) def. Thomas Giles (DEP), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles (order of finish: 2, 1, 3)
1.
Riccardo Baldi/
Rahulniket Konakanchi (BUT) def. Tobias Leitner/Sebastian Medica (DEP), 6-3
2. Alejandro Gandini/Pablo Torres Almeida (DEP) def.
Nicolas Arts/
Nicholas Shirley (BUT), 6-3
3. Thomas Giles/Sven Moser (DEP) def.
Nicholas Balthazor/
Arnesh Singh (BUT), 7-6 (1)
