"Overall we really came out fighting and played hard today," said SIUE Head Coach Jason Coomer. "It was great to get off to a fast start this morning and to follow up with Navy late this afternoon for some very close matches."
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After sweeping Coppin State in singles and doubles, Patrick Gaffigan was the lone SIUE singles player to win his match against Navy. Gaffigan downed Navy's Majkic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
"Pat played great today," said Coomer. "He seems to find himself in a lot of battles but is always strong in the final set as he was today. Looking back at Pat as a freshman and today as a senior there is no comparison in the level of his game."
Desse defeated Coppin State's Zaipo Oula 6-0, 6-0 early in the day and found himself in a battle with Navy's Joshua Martin at No. 5 singles but fell 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
"I thought Jack played some of the best points he has thus far this season," said Coomer. "He was really controlling points and swinging out on everything. That is when Jack is at his best."
SIUE collected the doubles point against Navy with wins at No. 2 doubles and No. 3 doubles. Gaffigan and Tristan Houle outdueled Majkic and Joshua Martin 6-2. SIUE's Dan Lineberry and Nico Kuehn downed Cameron Kirkpatrick and Andrew Hicks 6-3.
"We knew we had to come out strong in doubles this afternoon," said Coomer. "Navy, as you can imagine, is a very disciplined and focus team. They brought a lot of energy but our men match and exceeded that walking out with the doubles point."
The Cougars next head to Teaneck, New Jersey, to face Fairleigh Dickinson for a Monday match. The first serve is set for 11 a.m. CT.
"We are walking away with a split today and now focused on making our way to face Fairleigh Dickinson," said Coomer. "We will be ready when we take the court Monday and will try to leave this trip with a 2-1 record."
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