Bulls Claim Pair of Titles at Cornell Fall Invite
ITHACA, NY – Vusa Hove and Akhil Mehta scored singles titles as the University at Buffalo men's tennis team competed at the Cornell Fall Invite over the weekend. Binghamton, Colgate and Cornell also competed in the tournament that included two singles and a doubles flight.
Hove won the Red flight championship with an undefeated 4-0 record. He opened play with a "double-bagel" victory over Colgate's Mark Pronchik, 6-0, 6-0. Hove then needed three sets to down Florian Van Kann of Binghamton, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. In the semifinal round, he knocked off Cornell's Venkat Iyer, 6-2, 6-1. In Sunday's championship, Hove defeated Cornell's Sam Fleck, 6-4, 7-6.
Mehta won the White flight consolation crown with three wins after dropping his opening match. Mehta fell in the opener to Eliott Hureau of Binghamton, 6-3, 6-2, and was forced to work his way through the back half of the draw. In the consolation draw, Mehta defeated Colgate's Harry Jewett, 6-3, 6-2. In the semifinals, he defeated Patrick Fiaux of Cornell, 6-4, 6-4. Sunday's championship saw Mehta need three sets to down Janik Burri of Binghamton, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
Both of UB's doubles entries won their first round matches before being eliminated in the second round. Hove and Jason Simon beat Alec Goldstein and Nick Laub of Colgate, 8-6, but fell to Cornell's Alex Sydney and Spencer Clark, 8-3, in the second round. Mehta teamed with Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik to beat Kyle Berman and Alex Wilton of Cornell in the first round, 9-7. They were defeated by Fiaux and Andro Zunic of Cornell in the second round, 8-4.
"I am really proud of the way we played this weekend," said assistant coach George Tibil, who accompanied the four Bulls to the tournament. "Akhil improved his game with every match and finished by winning the consi. Vusa played a great match in the finals against a great Cornell player. We've been working hard all the fall and the results are showing up. We need to keep the momentum this week for the regionals."
The Bulls travel next to the ITA Regional Championships in New Haven, CT. Hove, Damien David and Ivan Vereshchaga are expected to compete for the Bulls at the tournament.
Click here for results from the event.