By Eric Weiss
Senior Writer
The men’s tennis team defeated Colgate 4-3 on the road on Saturday before losing to Army 6-1 on Monday. Solid doubles performances, as well as an outstanding match played by first-year standout Kyle Rosen ’14, drove the Bison to their victory over the weekend.
“Every spot in our lineup has a chance of winning their match,” Josh Katten ’13 said. “When you’re playing tight matches, it’s reassuring to look at the court next to you and see your teammate fighting hard for every point.”
Starting white-hot, all three doubles pairings defeated their Colgate opponents. Anton Kovic ’11 and Evan Zimmer ’13 achieved the most impressive victory by defeating their competition 8-1 in the first doubles position.
Things became more interesting as the Bison were unable to convert victories from either of their top two singles players. Zimmer, continuing his great play from his doubles match, and Katten, another doubles winner for the team, both won their respective singles matches.
Finally, Rosen bested his Colgate opponent in a grueling straight sets match to clinch the victory for the Orange and Blue.
“Playing close matches at the beginning of the year have helped us tremendously. Now, when we’re locked in a dogfight against Patriot League opponents, we can look back at matches from earlier and be confident about our chances,” Kelly Morque ’13 said.
Against Army, Zimmer was the only Bison to pull off a victory as he made quick work of his opponent at third singles.
The Orange and Blue were able to play some close matches against Army as Kovic and Rosen both took their opponents to tiebreakers but were unable to come out victorious.
The Bison will face Lafayette this coming weekend in Lewisburg. This will be the penultimate match before they make a run in the Patriot League Tournament.
“I think that if we can focus on the little things before the upcoming tournament, it will make a big difference,” Mark Malloy ’11 said. “Higher first serve percentages will apply more pressure on our opponents, and getting our returns low and crosscourt will help us control the point.”