On Saturday, Head Coach Carol Pillsworth and the RPI men’s tennis team welcomed the Manhattanville Valiants to Sharp Courts for a non-league showdown. Manhattanville was looking for a repeat of last spring, when the Valiants came to Troy and stomped the Engineers 9-0. Rensselaer had other ideas, however, giving the Valiants a taste of their own medicine, beating them 6-1.
Senior Joe Black and freshman Ben Rosenthal led the charge for RPI. The duo teamed up to win their second-seeded doubles match against Manhattanville’s Tim Crakes and B.J. Porto 8-4, and both players won their respective singles matches. Black swept Gabe Mallen 6-2 and 6-4 at the fifth spot, while Rosenthal came from behind to beat Allen Cheon at third singles 3-6, 6-1, and 6-0.
The Liberty League recognized both Black and Rosenthal for their outstanding performances. Black was named Performer of the Week, and Rosenthal was awarded Rookie of the Week honors. It was the first such award of the season for both players.
Also coming up big for the Engineers were sophomore Ranjeet Minocha and freshman Ed Cullen. The two young guns joined up to dominate their match at third doubles versus Mallen and Oytun Bozkir, 8-1, clinching the coveted doubles point for RPI. Minocha would go on to win at fourth singles against Crakes 6-0 and 6-2. In sixth singles, Cullen was victorious over Bozkir 6-1 and 6-3.
Senior captain Joe Byrne also chipped in with a victory at second singles, sweeping Porto 6-1 and 6-1.
The Engineers, who now stand at 4-2, have a busy week in front of them with matches against Hartwick today, league foe St. Lawrence on Friday, archrival Clarkson on Saturday, and Skidmore on Tuesday. This will be the final week of preparation for Pillsworth’s troops before they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take part in the Liberty League Championships on April 22-23. RPI will be looking to improve on last year, when the Engineers were swept out of the league playoffs.
