Air Force men’s tennis lost to Denver with a score of 5-2 on Sunday morning at the USAFA Outdoor Tennis Courts. The Falcons started strong by securing the doubles point, winning two out of three matches. Phillip Deaton and Matthew Staton defeated Beduhn and Papajcik 6-2 at No. 3 doubles, while AJ Moore and Langdon Tingleaf clinched the point at No. 2 with a 7-6 (7-3) victory over Mishiro and Rovai.
In singles play, Denver won five out of six matches. The Pioneers took the first three singles contests before Tingleaf earned Air Force’s only singles win at No. 5, beating Connor Robb-Wilcox in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (4). Denver secured the overall victory with a win at No. 3 singles.
Head coach Evan Urbina commented on the match: “We had a battle versus our in-state rivals today. AJ and Langdon had a great doubles tiebreak to clinch the point. In singles, we had to overcome slow starts to get ourselves in the match. That’s a point of emphasis moving forward. Langdon played some incredibly tough tennis to maintain his level throughout and get the singles win. AJ and Phil both fought back to force third sets, which was huge to give ourselves an opportunity to win. Ultimately, Denver played great tennis. We will continue to improve. Go Falcons!”
The Falcons will not compete next weekend but are scheduled for two matches in Irvine, California the following weekend against Navy on March 13 and UC Irvine on March 14.
