The Lee Nickell era got off to a milestone start with weekend victories in Rhode Island over Brown (4-3) and Bryant (7-0). UB’s victory over Brown was the program’s first ever victory over an Ivy League opponent while the win at Bryant was the second in two seasons for the Bulls.
Doubles Teams Go Undefeated
Kirill Kolomyts
Against both Brown and Bryant, UB scored doubles victories in all three matches. Against the Bears, UB’s number one duo, Wojciech Starakiewicz and Kirill Kolomyts knocked off Charlie Posner and Kendrick Au, 8-7. The pair scored an 8-2 win at Bryant on Sunday. At number two, Marcelo Mazzetto and George Tibil defeated Brown’s Nathaniel Gorham and Timmy Klanke by an 8-5 count and then picked up an 8-4 win against Bryant. The third doubles duo of Alex Kalinin and Mitch Zenaty defeated Brown’s Luciano Musella and Tom Deighton, 8-4, then rolled to an 8-1 win over Bryant on Sunday.
Tibil Scores Clincher Against Brown
George Tibil
UB got the winning fourth point in their match against Brown thanks to freshman George Tibil in the fifth singles slot. Tibil’s 6-3, 6-3 win over Luciano Musella gave the Bulls a 4-2 lead in the match and UB’s first win over an Ivy League opponent. Tibil rolled to 6-1, 6-1 win over Bryant’s Thomas Nowak on Sunday to move his singles record to 6-4. With his two wins with partner Marcelo Mazzetto over the weekend, Tibil took the team lead with 10 doubles victories.
Starakiewicz Earns National and Regional Rankings
Wojciech Starakiewicz
Sophomore Wojciech Starakiewicz earned national and regional rankings following the fall tournament schedule from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. He is the first men’s tennis player in UB’s Division I history to attain a ranking. Heading into the spring campaign, Starakiewicz ranked 107th nationally and sixth in the Northeast Region, the only player from the Mid-American Conference to be included on the national list. He improved to 7-1 in singles play with his wins at Brown and Bryant, both in straight sets.
First Times for the Bulls
Lee Nickell
The victory over Brown marked the first time in school history that the Bulls defeated an Ivy League program, known for producing strong men’s tennis squads. The victory was also the first collegiate win for Lee Nickell as a head coach. UB has faced Brown, Harvard and Cornell in dual meet competitions while also participating in tournaments at other Ivy League campuses including Dartmouth and Penn. The UB program will mark another milestone first in their next match, February 13 at Penn State, as UB takes on a Big Ten program for the first time in school history.
