In a Saturday doubleheader against Binghamton and Quinnipiac at the Pizzitola Sports Center, the men’s tennis team emerged undefeated to extend its current winning streak to three games. The Bears (4-1) topped Binghamton (4-2) by a fairly comfortable 6-1 scoreline but edged Quinnipiac (4-2) by a slim 4-3 margin.
“We expected strong teams, and we had been working hard the last two weeks to prepare for these two matches,” said co-captain Lucas Da Silveira ’16.
The day’s proceedings began with a duel against the Bearcats. The Bears swept doubles play, handily winning the doubles point and taking the early lead.
“Against Binghamton, we definitely brought the energy, and we were ready from the get go,” said co-captain Greg Garcia ’17.
In singles matches, the team continued its domination, though those matches were more competitive than those of the doubles.
The Bears won the first four singles thanks to Garcia, Mladen Mitak ’19, Peter Tarwid ’18 and Jack Haworth ’18, effectively sealing the triumph for the day. Garcia started the day off with a routine 6-1, 6-1 blowout in first singles. Mitak and Tarwid were each taken to a tiebreaker in their first sets — which they both won — followed by comfortable second-set victories. In the closest match of the day, Haworth went the distance in a three-set battle against Valentin Bouchet before coming out on top.
Charles Tan ’19 concluded the singles matches with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 victory over his Bearcat opponent. The win gave the Bears an impressive five points out of six in singles. With the result, the Bears were able to hand Binghamton its first loss of the season.
In contrast, the Bears began their matchup against the Bobcats with a loss in doubles play. Each team secured a 6-1 result before Quinnipiac nabbed the point with a win in a lengthy third doubles match.
The closely contested clashes continued during singles competition. The Bears and Bobcats traded victories in the first four matches, as Tarwid and Haworth each continued their winning ways. In the last two singles that would decide the overall victor, Aaron Sandberg ’18 and Tan both prevailed, giving the Bears a narrow 4-3 win.
“After taking down Binghamton, we relaxed a little bit,” Da Silveira said. “Quinnipiac came really ready to play, and we escaped with a victory.”
“We also know that we have to be ready for every team we play,” Garcia said. “Because we are such a young team, we have to be more intense and have more energy than the teams we are going up against.”
The Bears continue play this weekend in the ECAC Championships at Penn.
