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Bulls Brush Off Colgate, 7-0, in Early Men’s Tennis Match

Nikesh Singh Panthlia

WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – After spotting visiting Colgate (0-2) a victory in the first doubles match to be completed on Sunday, the University at Buffalo men’s tennis team swept the remaining eight matches to defeat the Raiders 7-0 at the Village Glen Tennis Center. UB’s scheduled match against Duquesne was postponed due to poor weather south of Buffalo that prevented the Dukes from making the trip.

UB (3-1) scored the doubles point with a comeback win after dropping the number one match. UB’s top duo of Albert Alant (Pretoria, South Africa/Niskayuna (NY)) and Kirill Kolomytes (Moscow, Russia/Moscow High School 155) fell to Colgate’s Chris Innes and Marshall Wheeler, 8-5, for the lone blemish to the Bulls’ run on Sunday.

From there, the number two duo of Mike Rockman (Toronto, Ontario/Thornlea) and Yules Hadisubroto (Jakarta, Indonesia/SMUN 21) scored an 8-3 win over Martin MacIntyre and Michael Yassky to set up the number three match as the decider.

With the numbers one and two matches in the books, the number three match was tied 6-6 when it became clear that the winner of the match would take the doubles point. The UB team of Nikesh Singh Panthlia (George Town, Malaysia/BMK Penang Free School) and Octavian Stane (Toronto, Ontario/Leaside) then rallied to take the final two games over Tyler Deck and John Noqueras to score the 8-6 win and give the Bulls their first point.

In singles play, the Bulls wrapped up the victory, quickly scoring the three needed wins.

Kirill Kolomytes

Kolomytes, a freshman who joined the team at the beginning of the second semester, scored his first collegiate win with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Wheeler in the number three match to give the Bulls a 2-0 edge.

The Bulls finished off the win as Alant and Singh Panthlia scored victories nearly simultaneously. Alant defeated Yassky, 6-2, 6-2, in the number six match while Singh Panthlia scored a 6-4, 6-0 win over Innes in the number two match. Although the match was decided, the number four match went to a full three sets. Hadisubroto needed to rally from a set down to defeat Deck, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Stane then knocked off Noqueras, 6-4, 6-4, to give UB a 6-0 lead and set up the sweep.

Mike Rockman

The final match to be completed was the number one match between Rockman and MacIntyre. After MacIntyre won the opening set, 6-3, Rockman rallied in the second set and led 5-4, serving for the set. However MacIntyre fought back to take the next two games for a 6-5 lead, before Rockman tied the set, 6-6, to force a tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Rockman jumped out to a 4-1 lead before MacIntyre stormed back to take a 6-5 lead, needing just one more point to take the match. At 6-5, Rockman left a volley return directly in front of MacIntyre who needed to just drop the ball into Rockman’s court for the point. However, MacIntyre took a full swing at the ball and knocked it out of bounds, tying the breaker at 6-6. The pair switched sides for the second time in the breaker and Rockman finished out the set with a pair of winners for the 8-6 tiebreaker decision.

In the ten-point super-tiebreaker, Rockman maintained control throughout play, winning 10-7 and giving the Bulls the shutout win.

The Bulls are next in action on February 17 with matches at St. Bonaventure against Binghamton and Bucknell.

Buffalo 7, Colgate 0

Doubles

1 Chris Innes/Marshall Wheeler (CU) d. Albert Alant/Kirill Kolomytes (UB), 8-5

2 Mike Rockman/Yules Hadisubroto (UB) d. Martin MacIntyre/Michael Yassky (CU), 8-3

3 Nikesh Singh Panthlia/Octavian Stane (UB) d. Tyler Deck/John Noqueras (CU), 8-6

Order of finish: 1 2 3

Singles

1 Mike Rockman (UB) d. Martin MacIntyre (CU), 3-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0 (10-7)

2 Nikesh Singh Panthlia (UB) d. Chris Innes (CU), 6-4, 6-0

3 Kirill Kolomytes (UB) d. Marshall Wheeler (CU), 6-1, 6-3

4 Yules Hadisubroto (UB) d. Tyler Deck (CU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-1

5 Octavian Stane (UB) d. John Noqueras (CU), 6-4, 6-4

6 Albert Alant (UB) d. Michael Yassky (CU), 6-2, 6-2

Order of finish: 3 6 2 4 5 1