By John Bernstein
Matt Volkov hits a backhand in a recent game at home. Campus Times Archives.
Sports Editor
The men and women’s tennis teams opened their Spring seasons in very different fashions this past Sunday, Feb. 13. With both teams hosting Colgate University at the Goergen Athletic Center, the men were blanked, 9-0, while the women got the better of the opposition, 5-4.
At first singles, freshman Boris Borovcanin fell 6-4, 6-0, to Colgate’s Luke Gensburg. Borovcanin enters this season as one of the premier freshmen in the region, having enjoyed an incredibly successful fall campaign during which he anchored UR as the team’s No. 1 singles player throughout the season and went undefeated in head-to-head matches. He was also the lone Yellowjacket to win his opening match of the United States Tennis Association Northeast Regional Championships, advancing to the second round before losing 4-6, 4-6.
Senior Jeff Zink lost 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, while juniors Matt Volkov (6-1, 6-2) and Brian Rice (6-2, 6-2) also lost in straight sets at the No. 3 and No. 4 singles positions, respectively.
UR’s fifth and sixth singles players put up stronger fights than their teammates in the 1-4 slots managed. Sophomore Joel Allen won the second set, 6-3, at No. 5 singles but lost the first, 6-0. Allen also faltered in the tie-breaker, 17-15, to hand the match to the Red Raiders’ Sean Spellberg. Alec Goldstein defeated UR senior Dan Barbash, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-8 to complete the singles sweep.
Doubles didn’t go much better for the Yellowjackets. Borovcanin and Rice couldn’t solve the Colgate No. 1 doubles team of Rusian Goussiantnikov and Phil Bernasek, finding themselves on the losing end of an 8-4 battle. Volkov and Zing, likewise, failed to overcome Sean Gensburg and Spellberg, 8-5.
It was a different story for the women of yellow and blue. Senior Lia Weiner paved the way for the home team’s narrow win with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles. She was one of three Yellowjackets to contribute two wins on the day, later teaming with junior Jamie Bow at No. 2 doubles to claim an 8-5 victory over Colgate’s Stephanie Brown and Kelsey Shea. Sophomore Frances Tseng took down Alex Petrini, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 2 singles, while at the No. 3 position junior Alex Goodman outlasted Brown in a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 win. The combination of Tseng and Goodman posted UR’s final win of the day at No. 2 doubles.
Bernstein is a member of
the class of 2014.
