SAN FRANCISCO –– Coming off a 4-3 loss to New Mexico State in Albuquerque on Saturday, the USF men's tennis team returned to San Francisco and earned a hard-fought 4-2 win over George Washington on Wednesday at the Olympic Club.

With the Dons leading 3-2, senior Thomas Takemoto put together a great performance at No. 4 singles to clinch the victory for the Green and Gold.

"This was a good win against a tough team of competitors," said head men's tennis coach Pablo Pires de Almeida. "The guys are on to something special and have a lot to prove for the second half of the season."

Doubles action began the afternoon, with seniors Nils Skajaa and Vasco Valverde winning easily at No. 1 over Julius Tverijonas and Chris Fletcher, 6-1. The Colonials would even the at No. 3 doubles, as Chris Reynolds and Cahit Kapukiran beat Jason Lee and Christian Brockstedt, 6-1. Playing for the doubles point at No. 3, Woravin Kumthonkittkul and Thomas Takemoto took Fernando Sala and Christos Hadjigeorgiou to a tiebreaker, eventually beating George Washington, 7-5.

Leading 1-0, Ryan Marker continued his impressive freshman season with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles over Fletcher. The Colonials pulled the match within a point at No. 3, with Danil Zelenkov taking down Vasco Valverde, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. USF was able to prevent George Washington from evening the match, as Skajaa beat Tverijonas in the No. 1 match. The Don lost the first set 7-5, but came back to win 6-4, 6-3 to earn the victory. However, George Washington kept the match alive at No. 5 singles, with Reynolds beating Tynan Maguire in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

With a chance to clinch the match, Takemoto won the first set 6-3 over Hadjigeorgiou. However, Hadjigeorgiou took the second set 6-3 to pull even. Takemoto came back to win 6-2 in the final set to earn the win at No. 5 and lead the Dons to victory.

USF will next play Saint Mary's on March 25 at the California Tennis Club at 1 p.m.

Doubles
1. Skajaa/Valverde (SF) def. Tverijonas/Fletcher (GW) 6-1
2. Kumthinkittikul/Takemoto (SF) def. Sala/Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 7-5
3. Reynolds/Kapukiran (GW) def. Lee/Brockstedt (SF) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1 2

Singles
1. Nils Skajaa (SF) def. Julius Tverijonas (GW) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
2. Ryan Marker (SF) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-2, 6-1
3. Danil Zelenkov (GW) def. Vasco Valverde (SF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
4. Thomas Takemoto (SF) def. Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Chris Reynolds (GW) def. Maguire (SF) 6-3, 6-4
6. Kumthinkittikul (SF) vs. Cahit Kapukiran (GW) 5-2, unfinished 

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 5, 4*