March 30, 2001

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis University men's tennis posted a nail-biting 4-3 victory over Evansville Thursday afternoon at The Billiken Tennis Center, avenging last year's 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Aces. The two teams split the six singles matches, but the Billikens took two of the three doubles contests to capture their seventh win of the season.

The doubles point got the Billikens off on the right foot to start the match. Freshmen Lance Vodicka and Thomas Kwong paired at the No. 1 doubles spot with a decisive 8-1 victory of Evansville's Anthony Wollschlager and Clemens Klein. In the No. 3 position, Eric Sasser and Sanjeev Paramanathan battled to a 9-7 decision over Troy Gillham and Derrick Kincheloe.

In singles action, the usually reliable Vodicka, who has been slowed by illness, fell to Wollschlager in the No. 1 spot 6-2, 6-1. The Aces captured the Nos. 3 and 4 singles matches as well, but the Billikens bounced back. Paramanathan topped Robert Blum 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 5 position, while Sasser delivered a convincing 6-1, 6-0 victory over Kincheloe. The match came down to the No. 2 singles match pitting Kwong against Tomas Johansson. The Billiken freshman had dropped the first set 4-6 before battling back to take the second set 6-3. Kwong outlasted Johansson in the final set 6-4 to hand the Bills the victory.

Saint Louis plays its final four regular-season matches on the road, beginning Thu., April 5, at Illinois-Chicago.

Singles

1. Wollschlager (EU) def. Vodicka 6-2, 6-1
2. Kwong (SLU) def. Johansson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Troy Gillham (EU) def. Michael Hoosien 6-3, 6-4
4. Clemens Klein (EU) def. Taylor Curran 7-6, 6-3
5. Paramanathan (SLU) def. Blum 7-5, 6-1
6. Sasser (SLU) def. Kincheloe 6-1, 6-0

Doubles

1. Vodicka/Kwong (SLU) def. Wollschlager/Klein 8-1
2. Klein/Johansson (EU) def. Hoosien/Curran 8-6
3. Paramanathan/Sasser (EU) def. Gillham/Kincheloe 9-7