The men’s tennis team fought hard all-day in its home season opener Feb. 14 against the University of Rochester, ultimately claiming the match with a 5–4 win.
Junior Wes Davis said beating the Yellowjackets was huge for the team because it is something that the Bombers haven’t been able to do in a very long time.
“It’s a huge kick-starter for our team considering we haven’t beat them in seven years,” Davis said. “To beat them shows us that we are at a really good starting point, even better than last year.”
The day started off strong, with the Bombers winning two out of their three doubles matches. Davis and sophomore Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos got off to a good start by beating the Yellowjackets 8–4. Senior Chris Hayes and freshman Michael Gardiner were able to beat their competition with a score of 8–6.
Head coach Bill Austin said all three sets of doubles played well, even though only two of them came off with wins.
“I thought all three double positions were all solid,” Austin said. “It always sets the tone for the match and trying to get that doubles point. Whether you are up 2–1 or 3–Love, I though all three double positions competed incredibly well.”
Hayes, Davis and Gardiner led the team by also winning their singles match.
After putting up a tough fight against Yellowjackets freshman Masaru Fujimaki and coming off of a torn ligament in his foot that happened at the end of the fall season, Gardiner was able to pull of the win 7–5 and 6–4.
Hayes said Gardiner played very well for all that he has gone through lately.
“Gardiner fought really hard, he’s been going through a lot these past couple weeks,” Hayes said. “He’s coming off a foot injury and he had a loss in the family as well so he really competed well, and it’s nice to see that his head was in the right place.”
Despite the win, Austin said that the team still has a lot to work on before its next match.
“We have to keep improving because other teams are going to take notice that we beat a quality team, like Rochester, and they are going to be ready for us,” Austin said. “We’ve got to continue to step it up. We have a match against St. Lawrence in two weeks and we have to be ready to go.”
The Blue and Gold will compete next on at 10 a.m. Feb. 27 against St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.
