The men’s tennis team split on the road in North Carolina this weekend, falling to No. 40 Elon University 4-3 but defeating Gardner-Webb University 6-1. At the same time the women’s team defended its home courts, sweeping Bryant University 5-0, Providence College 5-0 and the University of Rhode Island 4-1.
Brandon Burke ’14, Gregory Garcia ’17 and Daniel Hirschberg ’15 all tallied individual victories in Bruno’s ultimate loss to the Phoenix. The Bears (5-5) took down the Runnin’ Bulldogs Saturday with five singles victories and the doubles point.
The women’s team (8-3) dropped just two sets on the weekend en route to three Ocean State victories.
Lucas Da Silveira ’16 said Bruno started in a hole right away against Elon (5-2), losing the first three matches as the Phoenix clinched the doubles point and two singles matches to gain an early lead. Bruno fought back to tie the score 3-3, and the result came down to William Spector ’15, playing in the number four singles spot. Da Silveira said it was a very tight match going into the third set, but Spector did not close out, losing the final set 6-4.
In several of Bruno’s matches, the “difference is one or two points here or there,” Da Silveira said. “We are up there with everyone,” he said.
Da Silveira and his doubles partner, Justin To ’15, lost both matches this weekend from the top doubles spot. The doubles team has been on a dry spell since falling to Cornell Feb. 15.
Da Silveira said the team needs more confidence, but he noted that Garcia “had a great weekend,” coming out undefeated.
Garcia moved to the No. 1 singles spot this weekend, due to several of his teammates’ injuries. He said he was “competing every point,” and focused on each match. The first-year powerhouse said that after the team’s loss to Elon, it “wanted to come out the next day and get the win.” And Bruno did just that against Gardner-Webb (5-9). The fourth-, fifth- and sixth-spot singles “all won decisively,” Garcia said.
He added that Samuel Fife ’14 had one of his best career matches at third-spot singles.
After having a week off, the women’s tennis team competed against three other Rhode Island teams in a triple-header Saturday. Dayna Lord ’17 said everyone played well, allowing Bruno to “beat the teams pretty handily.”
Lord played in the Bryant and URI matches, making quick work of her opponents. She took down the Bulldogs’ Marion Boulin 6-2, 6-1 and beat the Rams’ Galina Chernykh 6-1, 6-1.
Lord said the weekend was a good way to figure out what her team needs to work on — mainly footwork, aggressiveness and playing more offensively. All in all, the weekend was “a great confidence-booster,” she said.
The women take on Georgia State University (5-5) Saturday, while the men’s team will face the University of Connecticut (3-6) Friday.
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