College Sports

By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer

Two of the top three teams at last year's national tournament squared off in a dual match Thursday, and it did not live up to its billing.

The Tyler Junior College men's tennis team welcomed Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College for the second year in a row and quickly dispatched the Fighting Artichokes, 9-0, at the JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center.

The Apaches (13-1) were expecting a tough fight along the lines of last year's 6-3 win, but Scottsdale (14-3) returned to Tyler without its No. 1 (transferred) and No. 3 (injury) players.

"Last year I felt (Scottsdale) was the best junior college team we played all year, and we played one of our best matches," said TJC head coach John Peterson. "I felt that we won it last year simply because of our home courts and maybe conditioning - the humidity got to them in third sets.

"They aren't as strong as they were last year, but it's still a good solid team and a good solid win for us."

Peterson said freshman Thibaud Aime turned in the best performance of the day at No. 2 singles as he defeated sophomore Alex Weiland, 6-2, 6-3. Weiland won Flight 3 at the national tournament last year, when TJC finished second as a team and Scottsdale third.

"That was maybe Thibaud's best match in quite a while," Peterson said.

Weiland was faster than Aime and has a big forehand, but the TJC Frenchman kept his opponent on the defensive by hitting deep groundstrokes to the forehand and backhand side.

"He kept great depth on the ball so the guy couldn't tee off on that forehand," Peterson said.

The Apaches were also impressive at Nos. 1 and 3 singles. Dominic McLuskey (England) won a heated match over Brazilian sophomore Thomas Rizk, 6-2, 7-5; while Roman Petrunin (Russia) downed Richard Linstrom 6-3, 6-4.

"(McLuskey) has a big game," Peterson said. "It's a big serve coming at you and he hits a big forehand. He's better at defending with his backhand, that's why his level is rising. And he can even finish around the net a little bit."

Peterson also praised McLuskey and Petrunin as a doubles pair at the top of the lineup. They won 8-4.

The TJC men are scheduled to entertain UT Dallas at 6 p.m. Friday.

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TJC 9, Scottsdale (Ariz.) 0

Doubles

Dominic McLuskey-Roman Petrunin, TJC, def. Thomas Rizk-Alex Weiland, 8-4; Zack Goldsmith-John Haley, TJC, def. Andrew Waltz-Ali Borhani, 8-2; Clay Cypert-Antoine Laberibe, TJC, def. Richard Linstrom-Kevin Crowley, 8-6.

Singles

McLuskey, TJC, def. Rizk, 6-2, 7-5; Thibaud Aime, TJC, def. Weiland, 6-2, 6-3; Petrunin, TJC, def. Linstrom, 6-3, 6-4; Laberibe, TJC, def. Waltz, 6-2, 6-1; Haley, TJC, def. Crowley, 6-4, 6-1; Cypert, TJC, def. Borhani, 6-1, 6-0.

TJC’S Thibaud Aime returns a shot during a tennis match against Scottsdale Community College in a dual match Thursday.
(Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero)