The Villanova men’s tennis team split a pair of matches over the weekend, falling to Creighton, 7–0, on Thursday before bouncing back with a 6–1 victory over Loyola Maryland on Saturday.

Villanova opened the stretch on March 12 in a tough matchup against Creighton at St. John’s in Queens, NY. Despite a strong start in doubles, the Wildcats were unable to carry the momentum into singles play.

Sophomore Cooper Gordon and junior Ethan Carr earned Villanova’s lone doubles victory of the match, defeating McKenzie and McMahon, 6–4, at the No. 1 position. Creighton answered on the other two courts, as Daisima and Daniel defeated juniors Kush Anand and Thomas Wakefield, 6–0, at No. 2 doubles, while Kuo and Danler edged sophomores Jack Sherner and Quincy Jones, 7–5, at the No. 3 spot to secure the doubles point.

“I thought we played pretty good doubles,” Villanova head coach Brad Adams said. “We had a pretty good chance with Quincy and Jack to break and clinch the point. Overall, we were a little sluggish having to drive to St. John’s. We were relatively slow to get going.”

Creighton maintained control in singles play, winning all six matches to seal the 7–0 result. At the top position, Daisima defeated Gordon, 6–0, 6–2, while Patel followed with a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Will Monahan at No. 2 singles.

The most competitive match came at No. 3 singles, where Carr battled through three sets before falling to Kuo, 6–3, 5–7, 10–6. Danler added another point for Creighton with a 6–3, 6–1 win over Wakefield at No. 4 singles. McKenzie defeated Justin Frattarelli 6–4, 6–2 at No. 5, and McMahon closed out the sweep with a 6–4, 6–7 (3), 10–6 win over Sherner at No. 6.

“Losing in three sets at three and six was tough,” Adams said. “They battled well. It was rough for a first conference match.”

Adams also pointed to the challenge of facing an opponent that primarily competes indoors.

“It’s tough to play a primarily indoor team like Creighton,” Adams said. “It might’ve been a different story outside. After coming back from San Diego and playing a lot of matches outside, it’s difficult for us to adjust to playing indoors sometimes.”

Villanova responded two days later with a strong performance on the road, defeating Loyola Maryland 6–1 on March 14.

The Wildcats once again set the tone in doubles, capturing the opening point with victories on Courts No. 1 and No. 2. Gordon and Carr battled to a 7–6 win over Lawliss and Gill at the top position, while Anand and Wakefield secured a 6–2 victory over Hagen and Moldenhaver at No. 2 doubles.

“The battle we had in doubles was very challenging,” Adams said. “At two, we had a pretty easy victory, but at one we had to win in a tiebreak.”

Loyola picked up its lone doubles win at No. 3, where Edwards and Zelders defeated Sherner and Jones, 7–6.

“I thought the guys should have been able to win more comfortably,” Adams said. “But the toughness helped us bring that intensity going into singles.”

Villanova carried that momentum into singles play, winning five of six matches to secure the team victory.

At No. 1 singles, Gordon delivered a dominant 6–0, 6–1 win over Moldenhaver. Carr followed with a 6–2, 6–3 victory over Gill at the No. 2 position. Monahan rebounded after dropping the first set to defeat Hagen, 1–6, 6–1, 6–1 at No. 3 singles.

Wakefield added another point for the Wildcats with a 7–5, 6–1 win over Lawliss at No. 4. Loyola Maryland’s only singles victory came at No. 5, where Edwards defeated Jones 6–2, 6–0. Sophomore Evan Ancu closed out the match for Villanova with a decisive 6–1, 6–1 win over Rotundo at No. 6.

Adams looks forward to the matchup against Marquette this weekend.

“We need to make sure that we set the tone from the first points and games in doubles,” Adams said. “We’ll have the energy and confidence from our matches against them over the past two years.”

Villanova will host Marquette on Saturday, March 21. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.