The winning streak continued for the Valparaiso University men’s tennis team on Saturday afternoon as Valpo collected its sixth straight triumph. The team returned to Summit League action and ventured to Bloomington, Ill., coming away victorious 5-2 over host Illinois State at the indoor Bloomington Tennis Center.

How It Happened

• Valpo (12-3, 2-1) got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point. The top doubles team of Kweisi Kenyatte (Detroit, Mich. / East English Village Preparatory) and Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) picked up a victory at No. 1 against Egehan Sertkaya and Aleksa Lazarevic.
• The Redbirds (11-7, 0-1) drew even with a win at No. 3 doubles, but a clutch triumph at second doubles by Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) and Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Homeschooled) secured the doubles point. That duo beat Diego Herrera and Jorge Quispe. All three doubles matches featured 6-3 finals.
• Kenyatte sustained his recent dominance with a straight-set sweep of Quispe at No. 3, winning 6-3, 6-4 in the first singles match to finish.
• Illinois State took the No. 1 singles match in straight sets, but Ancona put together a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over Pol Rius Botifoll at No. 2 to expand Valpo’s lead in the team score to 3-1.
• The clinching win came courtesy of Pecyna at No. 4 as he topped Lazarevic 6-4, 6-4.
• Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) tacked on a 7-5, 7-5 win over Sertkaya at No. 6, while Gabriel Carvajal (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Broward Virtual School [Florida Atlantic]) fell on a third-set tiebreak at No. 5.

Inside the Match

• The top doubles team of Ancona and Kenyatte improved to 18-5 on the season, while Kissell garnered his 69^th career doubles win to move into a tie with Kyle Dunn (2013-2017) for fourth in program history.
• Ancona improved his glowing singles record to 21-4, while Kenyatte upped his mark to 13-1 in dual match play.
• Pecyna continued a strong year by improving to 17-8 in singles, while Langston amended his season record to 16-9.

Up Next

Valpo will round out the regular season with three consecutive home matches beginning on April 6 against Drake. The match will begin at 10 a.m. and will be played outdoors at the Valpo Tennis Complex if the weather cooperates, or indoors at Match Point Tennis Club in Griffith if necessary.