Men's tennis weekly release
Bulls Complete Fall Action at Cornell Invite
The University at Buffalo men's tennis team completed the fall tournament schedule over the weekend with play at the Cornell Invitational. There was no team scoring in the meet that also featured Cornell, Army, Navy, Duquesne and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Starakiewicz Wins Singles Title
Wojciech Starakiewicz won the A-1 singles title finishing with a 4-0 record at the tournament. Starakiewicz defeated Cornell's Max Haskin, 6-2, 6-4, in the championship final. The number one seed in the top flight, Starakiewicz did not drop a set in the three-day competition. The junior reached the final after earning a "double bagel" 6-0, 6-0 victory over Cornell's Zhongming Chen.
Hove Takes Third Place
Vusa Hove won the third-place match in the A-2 singles flight. Hove needed three sets to down Cornell's Chris Song, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. Hove, seeded fourth in the bracket, finished the tournament with three victories and led the Bulls with 11 wins during the fall campaign.
Doubles Teams Play Strong
In doubles play, Hove and Mitch Zenaty defeated teammates Starakiewicz and Travis Zappia to claim third place in the A bracket. Zenaty and Hove went 2-1 in the tournament with both players finishing with seven doubles wins during the fall. Jason Shkodnik and Kristof Custers won the B doubles consolation final with an 8-1 victory over Manuel Kaire and Guillermo Paiz of Fairleigh Dickinson. The duo went 2-1 in the flight and 5-1 during the fall.
A Nickell's Worth
With the fall tournament season now complete, head coach Lee Nickell assessed his team's performance. "Unfortunately we had a rough fall in terms of nagging injuries and sickness. We have done a decent job of handling this adversity, but we need to get tougher if we are going to make a run in the MAC again," said Nickell. "That being said, I am proud of us winning a few draws in our fall contests and I know that we will be ready for our tough spring schedule come January."