The UR men’s tennis team kicked off its spring season at home with a 6-3 loss to the Ithaca College Bombers on Saturday and an 8-1 victory over the Dolphins of Le Moyne College on Sunday.
Against the Bombers, freshman Brian Schmeer was a double winner he defeated his opponent in singles at the No. 4 spot and, with sophomore Daniel Barbash, came away with a victory at third doubles.
Though sophomore Patrick Sheehan and freshman Matt Volkov won at second doubles, the Yellowjackets could not overcome Ithaca’s solid performance in singles play and in the match as a whole.
‘Ithaca was a strong team,” Schmeer said. ‘There were several close matches that could have gone either way. If we had managed to win them, we would have won the match.”
The loss did not discourage the ‘Jackets, though. Instead, it allowed them to reassess the meaning of all the training that they had completed in the offseason.
‘[I advise the players] to focus on the things they can control such as their attitude and effort level,” head coach Matt Nielsen said. ‘Focused practice sessions are essential to playing well in matches. The team worked hard over the offseason on both their fitness and tennis games. Our team practices over the past month have been productive and the coaching staff is pleased with the improvements we have seen.”
Such improvements led UR to a solid performance over the Dolphins five players won both their singles and doubles sets.
Junior Brian Bowman beat his opponent, 6-2 and 6-1, at No. 1 singles. At the No. 2 spot, sophomore Bennett Peterson won, 6-4 and 6-4.
‘Sometimes your opponent tries to throw you off or break your rhythm,” Peterson said.
‘Other times, there is simply more pressure riding on the match. The key is to keep your composure and play your game.”
Peterson succeeded in both of these tasks, winning No. 1 doubles, 8-4, alongside Bowman.
Sheehan and Volkov won their doubles match, 8-4, at the No. 2 spot, while Barbash and sophomore Jeff Zinc were victorious in their doubles set at No 3.
Sheehan, Zinc and Barbash won their single sets, contributing points to the win, too.
Their next match is on Sunday at home against the Colgate University Raiders a team on a three-game losing streak.
‘Colgate is going to be a real tough match,” Schmeer said. ‘We learned a lot from our matches this weekend and will take our weaknesses and work on them all week to prepare for Colgate. If we can tighten up our weaknesses and maintain our strongest shots, we should be able to pull off a win.”
Kravitz is a member of the class of 2012.
