Men's tennis weekly release
Bulls Claim Five Championships at UB Invite
The University at Buffalo men's tennis team enjoyed success at their UB Invitational as the Bulls hosted Kennesaw State and local rivals St. Bonaventure and Niagara in the three-day tournament. The Bulls claimed four singles titles and one doubles crown during the weekend play.
Singles Players Roll to Titles
The UB Invitational was divided into eight singles flights with UB players winning four of the championship flights, including the top three. Wojceich Starakiewicz, in the A Draw, Damien David, in the B Draw, Vusa Hove, in the C Draw, and Travis Zappia, in the G Draw, all earned titles. Alex Kalinin also posted a 3-0 singles mark as he played one match in the G, F and D Draws as the Bulls were forced to juggle their lineups after a couple of injuries during the weekend.
A Draw Doubles Also Victorious
UB's entry in the doubles A Draw also rolled to three wins. On Friday and Satruday, Vusa Hove and Damien David scored wins over Kennesaw State and Niagara. Against St. Bonaventure, on Sunday, Hove paired with Wojceich Starakiewicz for an 8-1 win over Elliot Fanshel and Luis Guevera of St. Bonaventure while David combined with Travis Zappia for a 9-7 B Draw win over Oscar Yanez and Miguel Suarez.
Going More Than the Distance
Playing two singles matches over the weekend Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik went to third-set super-tiebreakers in both of his matches. Against Kennesaw State's Alex Pena, he fell in the tiebreaker, 10-2, in the F draw. However on Sunday, he rebounded to claim a win over St. Bonaventure's Trevor Haskell, 11-9, in the breaker, after the pair split 6-0 opening sets.
A Nickell's Worth
Head coach Lee Nickell was pleased with his team's play at the UB Invitational. "This was a very good weekend in terms of getting some good match play in," said Nickell. "We did a really good job in the top three flights staying consistent in singles. We still have a lot of things to work on as we prepare for regionals and Cornell."
Bulls Open Season at Princeton Invite Impressively
The fall tournament schedule began at the Princeton Invitational as the Bulls faced top notch talent. Freshman Ivan Vereshchaga and sophomore Travis Zappia won the C doubles flight as they defeated Yuri Gricheno and Marco Jermesic of Fairleigh Dickinson, 8-2, in the championship match. Vereshchaga and Zappia, the number two seed in the flight went 3-0 on the weekend. In singles play, Damien David made his collegiate debut a memorable one by reaching the championship match in the B singles flight. David won his first three matches with victories over oppenents from Penn, Penn State and Columbia before falling in the three-set final to Tomas Hanzlik of Penn State.