The men’s tennis team started the season at 3-0 and went on to win the Flower City Tournament, beating Rochester Institute of Technology, Ithaca College and SUNY Oneonta, 8-1, 7-2 and 7-2 respectively.
“It was a good way to start off the season, to really get in a groove before some of the other major tournaments of the fall,” junior Aaron Gettinger said.
The team played Ithaca and won all three doubles matches and four of the six possible singles matches. Junior Thanos Kantarelis won his singles match 6-1, 6-3 and then teamed up with junior Eric Hansen to win the #1 doubles match 8-5. Meanwhile, Jeff Titcombe won at #3 singles 6-3, 6-3 and teamed up with Aaron Gettinger to win their doubles match, 8-3.
Senior Mike Burger and Brian Bowman teamed up to finish the doubles sweep by winning the #3 doubles 8-0. Burger also won his #4 singles match 7-6 (5), 6-2. Brad Christensen completed the rout by winning his match handily 6-3, 6-2 at the #6 singles position.
“It was a good, dominating performance by our team, something that we can take on with us to Middlebury Invite this weekend,” Gettinger said.
Against RIT, the UR men really turned up the heat and destroyed the Tigers, 8-1, winning every match except for the third doubles game. All six single matches were won in straight sets highlighted by Eric Hansen winning first singles 6-1, 6-2, Aaron Gettinger winning 7-6(1), 6-2 at the third singles position and the team of Hansen and Kantarelis winning the first doubles handily 8-2.
Against Oneonta, UR swept the singles matches again, with Kantarelis winning 6-4, 7-6(5) at first singles, Hansen winning 6-1, 6-2 at #2 and Gettinger smoking his opponent 6-1, 6-4 at third singles. Steinhauser beat his opponent after he retired, 7-5, 3-2, Brad Chistianson won again by the retirement of his foe 6-4, 4-3 and Bowman finished off the singles rout by winning his match 7-5, 6-1. The team proceeded to take two of three doubles matches to complete the overall victory.
“Such lopsided wins are necessary to get the young guys ready to play in the tougher tournaments,” Gettinger said. “They also gain a taste for competition that will come in the spring, where it is more team oriented and each match counts towards a team goal.”
Overall, the Rochester tennis team had a great week as they get ready to play in the Middlebury Invite this weekend and then the ITA Nationals in Fort Myers, Fla. While the main season is still many months away, it is these matches, the ones that fly under the radar, that allow teams to actively prepare for the grueling schedule in the spring.
Maystrovsky can be reached at dmaystrovsky@campustimes.org.
