The men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to seven when they defeated Elmira College 9–0 April 30. With the win, the Bombers grabbed the second seed for the Empire 8 Championships.
Senior Chris Hayes moved up to first doubles to play with junior Wes Davis. Hayes and Davis defeated the Eagles’ senior Satchal Waters and senior Austin Mansell with a score of 8–3.
Hayes said he was excited to have this opportunity to play first doubles with Davis.
“First doubles is definitely an adjustment, but I feel like my level of play has lifted me to that position,” Hayes said. “Having Wes as a partner is very helpful because he’s been playing first doubles for almost two years now.”
Sophomore Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos and freshman Stefan Lazarevic won second doubles against Elmira’s sophomores Chris Konow and Yaniv Kogan with a score of 8–2.
Coming off of an injured right ankle, freshman Michael Gardiner played third doubles with junior Nate Wolf. Gardiner and Wolf defeated the Eagles’ sophomore Patrick Tracey and freshman Jordan Curtis with a score of 8–1.
Gardiner said it felt great to be back on the court with his teammates.
“It was a lot of fun. I miss being out on the court. I miss being with my teammates,” Gardiner said. “It’s been a little too long for me. I don’t like being injured. Sitting on your butt and cheering them on is good and all, but playing with them is better.”
The South Hill squad won all six singles matches in two sets each.
Junior Brandon Buksbaum and Lazarevic both had excellent singles matches, as they defeated Konow and Curtis respectively with scores of 6–0 in both sets.
With scores of 6–2 for both sets, Hayes defeated Waters in first singles. Viguie-Ramos defeated Kogan in the fifth singles match with scores of 6–1 and 6–0.
Wolf defeated Tracey in third singles with scores of 6–0 and 6–2.
In the second singles matchup, Davis defeated Mansell in second singles with scores of 6–3 and 6–1.
Davis said he is glad with the outcome of the match.
“The whole team played really well,” Davis said. “Elmira is a really good team, so it was a good win.”
The Blue and Gold will play next at 2 p.m. May 1 against Connecticut College on the Wheeler Tennis Courts. This match is the Bombers’ final home match and will honor Hayes for Senior Day.
