Men's tennis vanquishes all opponents

In only one week, the men’s tennis team won five straight matches, bringing their overall record start to 5-4 on the season. “Our first few matches were disappointing, but they were against top-notch competition from California,” senior Dan Williford said. “That’s not to say that we couldn’t have beaten those teams, but we didn’t quite have the experience yet.”The Yellowjackets had four straight wins in four days against Nazareth College, Hobart College, Niagara University and the Rochester Institute of Technology from March 25 to March 28..On Thursday, March 25, the Yellowjackets won every match in a 7-0 victory over Nazareth. In No. 1 singles, junior Avinash Reddy defeated Jefferson Dargout 6-0, 6-2. Reddy then teamed up with junior Partha Bhattacharva in No. 2 doubles for an 8-1 win. Sophomore Josh Bruce-Black won at No. 6 singles 6-0, 6-0.In the toughest match, the team defeated Hobart on Friday with a 4-3 decision. The Yellowjackets’ doubles teams greatly contributed to the victory with all three teams winning their matches. In No. 2 singles, Williford defeated Trevor McAndrew. In No. 5 singles sophomore Eric Prince won in a close 3-set match 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-2. Freshman Mike Lee won at No. 6 singles 7-6(6), 6-1. He improved his record to 11-2 and earned the fourth winning point for UR.On Saturday, UR defeated Niagara 6-1. Senior Colin Ryan had a strong performance at No. 3 singles. Without losing a single game, Ryan defeated Jason Ramos 6-0, 6-0. Lee also defeated opponent Dave Reuter at No. 6 singles 6-0, 6-0. Bruce-Black won at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-1. Reddy and Bhattacharya won at No. 2 doubles 8-0.For the fifth victory in a row, and the fourth in four days, UR defeated RIT on Sunday, 7-0. At No. 1 singles, Williford defeated regionally ranked David Chachu 6-4, 6-2. Bhattacharya won all games in a victory at No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-0. At No. 3 doubles, junior Brian Shenker and Prince defeated opponents 8-0.”So far the season has been a success in my eyes,” Williford remarked.Now with a 5-4 record, the UR team will travel to Maine on April 3 to play tough regional opponent Bates College. The team then plays at equally tough Bowdoin College on April 4.McLean can be reached at amclean@campustimes.org.