Weather continued to be the men’s tennis team’s greatest obstacle this week, in one case possibly changing the outcome of a match. Last Wednesday’s match at Hartwick was cancelled due to rain, and rain threatened the match against the Clarkson Golden Knights on Saturday.
Friday’s match against the St. Lawrence University Saints, however, featured beautiful weather at SLU’s Canton, N.Y. campus. The battle Rensselaer endured, however, was not so beautiful. The tone was set by the doubles matches. Borjan Gagoski and Joe Byrne put up a fight at first doubles against Matt Dwyer and Mike Wiltshire of SLU, but were only able to produce an 8-3 defeat. Both of the other doubles matches were lost 8-2.
The singles picture was just as grim. First singles, played by Gagoski for RPI, was a near shutout at 6-0, 6-1. Joaquin Denoya was dealt a tough blow by SLU’s Wiltshire, losing 6-0, 6-0. Wiltshire was named Co-Performer of the Week by the UCAA for his performance in that match. RPI’s Joe Black also had difficulty with his challenger, Ian Graddock, who defeated Black 6-3, 6-1.
Byrne and Amadeus Lopez provided the toughest contests of the afternoon, fighting tough first sets for Rensselaer at second and fifth singles. Lopez pushed Neil Cutter to 5-7 in the first set, but gave way to a 2-6 defeat in the second. Byrne ceded a 6-4, 7-5 loss, after showing determination to win despite the team’s lackluster results that day.
The Saints swept RPI 7-0 and as a result, RPI fell to 2-5 on the season.
After losing 7-0 to St. Lawrence, the men’s tennis team was looking forward to a good Saturday at Clarkson in Potsdam, N.Y.
The weather was threatening from the beginning, but the teams were able to get the match started. The match was going quite well for Rensselaer right from the beginning, with all three doubles teams winning their matches (8-2, 8-1, 8-0). Four of the six singles matches also got out on the court, and all four RPI players had won their first sets when the match was suspended due to rain. Play never resumed, and the match was postponed indefinitely.
RPI Men’s Tennis Coach Carol Pillsworth found it “frustrating, disappointing, and disgusting” not to finish the match. A win against Clarkson would have ended a string of disappointing losses. The season has been a tough one for Rensselaer men’s tennis, Pillsworth noted, especially with the unexpected absence of two of the team’s best players this semester.
Next on the agenda for the team is the UCAA Championship tournament, which is being held this weekend in Geneva, N.Y.
