By Michael Leach, Ledger sports editor
The Maharishi School boys’ tennis team had to go without two of its varsity mainstays Monday against Fairfield but received a huge lift from a pair of newcomers.
MSAE sophomores Davis Fleshman and Avery Mullenneaux both posted straight set wins in their varsity singles debuts to help the Pioneers roll to a 7-2 win in the annual crosstown matchup at Fairfield Middle School courts.
The meet win improves the Pioneers’ record to 2-1, and for Fairfield it’s just their first loss of the season.
In the premier matchup of the day, No. 1 singles pitted freshmen Alexander Punj and Sam Stickels, who made his first career start in the No. 1 spot. After falling behind in the first set, Stickels rallied for a 7-6 win to open the match. Punj came back for a 6-2 win in the second set, however, and then carried the momentum into the third set supertiebreaker for a 10-7 victory. With the win, Punj kept his perfect season record intact.
MSAE’s usual No. 1 Sam Arsanjani, as well as Solaris Nite, were out of the lineup Monday.
Other singles wins for Maharishi School came from Thomas Weiss at No. 2, Raphael Gelfand at No. 3 and Surya Sawhney at No. 4.
In No. 1 doubles, Weiss and Stickels squeaked out an 11-10 win. The Pioneer duo trailed 3-7 before forcing a tiebreaker and prevailing 7-3 in the tiebreaker. The No. 2 doubles team of Gelfand and Sawhney won their match, while Matt Burnstedt and Matt McCan handed Fairfield its second win of the day at No. 3 doubles.
The Trojans have a quick turnaround and will face Fort Madison today, while the Pioneers travel to Keokuk on Thursday.
Singles
Doubles