WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise men's tennis team began the 2015-16 season with a 9-0 loss at the hands of Tusculum College to begin the fall non-conference portion of its schedule.
 
On a bright and sunny afternoon in Wise, the Cavaliers were not able to claim a singles or doubles match against the steady and strong Pioneers.
 
The No. 1 doubles duo of Andrii Rutnytskyi and Viktor Tunnikov showed the most promise in doubles as the two battled to win a pair of games off of the experienced Jonas Winkelmann and Leon Seiz.
 
In singles action, it was more of the same as Tusculum showed why they finished last season ranked 48th in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
 
Sophomore Andrii Rutnytskyi fought hard at the top singles position to win three games off of Tusculum's Winkelmann but still fell 6-2, 6-1. The closest singles match of the day came at the No. 3 spot where sophomore Viktor Tunnikov took four games off of the Pioneers' Tashique Kader in a 6-2, 6-2 match. The Cavs' Charles Pollard won a couple of games in the first set versus Eduardo Munoz of Tusculum at No. 6 singles.
 
"We played a very tough team today and we battled hard but came up short", remarked Head Coach Danny Rowland.
 
The Cavs will have a nine-day break before hitting the courts again for competition when they host Milligan College for a 4 p.m. match on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
 
Full Match Results
#48 Tusculum 9, UVa-Wise 0
 
Singles
1. Jonas Winkelmann (TCM) def. Andrii Rutnytskyi (WISE) 6-2, 6-1
2. Leon Seiz (TCM) def. Oleg Kopychenko (WISE) 6-0, 6-0
3. Tashique Kader (TCM) def. Viktor Tunnikov (WISE) 6-2, 6-2
4. Fabian Paier (TCM) def. Noah Aldridge (WISE) 6-0, 6-0
5. Toby De Klerk (TCM) def. Blake Pientka (WISE) 6-0, 6-0
6. Eduardo Munoz (TCM) def. Charles Pollard (WISE) 6-2, 6-0
 
Doubles
1. Jonas Winkelmann/Leon Seiz (TCM) def. Andrii Rutnytskyi/Viktor Tunnikov (WISE) 8-2
2. Tashique Kader/Fabian Paier (TCM) def. Oleg Kopychenko/Blake Pientka (WISE) 8-0
3. David Siegle/Toby De Klerk (TCM) def. Noah Aldridge/Charles Pollard (WISE) 8-0