By Beth Renkoski

03/23/09

No. 8 Lions Win Fifth Straight

Fullerton, Calif – Cal State Fullerton Tennis Courts – The eighth-ranked Vanguard University Lions cruised to a 9-0 victory over Hope International University in GSAC men’s tennis action this afternoon in Fullerton. The shutout was VU’s third of the season and the victory was the Lions’ fifth in a row.

The Lions charged to a 3-0 lead with a sweep in the doubles action. Blake Lamberth and Nils Iwdal led the way with a dominating 8-1 win at No. 3. Florian Lemke and Sandro Bucher also cruised through their match with an 8-4 decision over the Royals. VU’s top doubles pair, Fredric Sandberg and Tino Brodar, had their hands full with Rajko Mladenovic and Sebastian Brunescu, as the Lions completed the sweep with a gruelling 9-8 victory from Sandberg and Brodar.

The Lions received a point at No. 6 with a default from HIU and Iwdal coasted to a 6-0, 6-0 win in the No. 5 match. Those two points clinched the victory for Vanguard, but the Lions competed hard to complete the shutout. Bucher (6-1, 7-6) and Sandberg (7-5, 6-3) registered straight set wins at No. 4 and No. 2, respectively, while Brodar (6-3, 6-7, 10-7) and Lemke (2-6, 7-6, 10-8) needed the tiebreaker to record the final two points for the Lions.

VU’s fifth win in a row improves the Lions’ overall record to 11-4. Today’s match marked the beginning of the second round of conference play as the Lions improve to 5-4 in GSAC. The No. 8-ranked Lions host No. 12 Point Loma Nazarene on Thursday in a 2:00 p.m. match at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center. Go Lions!

Today’s GSAC Match Scores: