Tennis first team ease past Exeter in BUCS Champs Trophy

Wednesday proved to be a pivotal day in the history of IC tennis. A distraught Exeter 1st team saw themselves humbled at the hands of our valiant 1st team.

The day started with some operational issues as the inconsistency of the tube lead to the team missing a train. This proved only to be a minor hiccup and the team swiftly arrived at the Exeter tennis center. After a short warm up and a less than warm welcome the doubles began.

Fresher Victor Knobe, having an incredible debut season, and IC veteran Rob Bush paired up against the Exeter 1st pair. A slow start from the duo gave Exeter an early lead. The arrogance of the Exeter boys was clear for all to see and they seemed to believe the match would be a stroll in the park. However, Knobe and Bush showed them why IC is having a record-breaking season, storming back to take the first set in the tie breaker 7-6. The second set was another tight affair, but our boys showed their mental strength, winning the important points when it mattered to seal the match 7-6 7-5.

In the other doubles, Adam Gunasekara and Avinash Murthy also started very slowly and lost the first set 6-0. Something had to be done to create some problems for Exeter, and a change in tactics from the boys at the start of the second set altered the course of the match. The IC duo took the second set 6-3, taking the match into a championship tie break. The boys stated the tie break excellently putting themselves in a strong position at 8-3. Some more strong play from our boys earned them a match point, however Exeter were not to be outdone and fought back to take the tiebreak 11-9.

With two tight doubles completed, the singles began. Captain Pio Monti led the team in the singles. Unfortunately the Exeter number one proved to be too good, playing some breathtaking tennis and overcame Monti in a close encounter.

Rob Bush played was up against the Exeter number two, who has previously recorded wins against other members of the IC team. With a steep challenge in front of him, Bush upped his game. He exploded out of the blocks at the start to claim the first set 6-1 and shock his opponent. Bush made good use of new found “oomph” on his serve and easily dominated his service games. Eventually Bush held his nerve and his serve to close the match 6-4. This leveled the tie at 2-2, leaving the result in the hands of Adam Gunasekara and Viktor Knobe.

The boys were not to be outdone, each playing spectacular tennis to take their respective matches. Fresher Knobe played what could only be described as some of his best tennis, putting away countless winners and wasting no time in closing out points. Knobe was ruthless on the return of serve and equally unforgiving on serve. As a result his opponent was soon out of ideas and out of time. This put Imperial 3-2 up and a victory from Adam would guarantee the teams’ passage to the quarterfinals.

Adam, clearly aware of how much was riding on his match, wasted little time in disposing of his opponent. Battling through an ankle injury and severe cramping, he closed the match with the most delicate of drop shots, only to find himself quickly surrounded by an elated men’s team celebrating!

The guys will now face Leeds Met away in the quarter finals of the BUCS UK championships. Leeds with a world’s top 800 player in their team will be no pushover.