Bulls Rally Past Purple Eagles, 6-1

Marcelo Mazzetto

WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – After spotting visiting Niagara University the opening doubles point, the University at Buffalo men's tennis team scored victories in all six singles matches to defeat the Purple Eagles, 6-1, at the Village Glen Tennis Center on Friday night. It was the first victory of the season for the Bulls (1-5) as they snapped a five-match losing streak. Niagara is 1-4 overall.

Five of the six singles matches went a full three sets with the Bulls winning the opening set in each match before the Purple Eagles rallied to tie the five matches.

With UB trailing 1-0 after doubles play, junior Octavian Stane (Toronto, Ontario/Leaside) got the Bulls on the scoreboard with his straight-sets win over Marc Dickinson, 6-3, 6-1 at fourth singles.

From there, the Bulls found the going tough against Niagara, but prevailed. Kirill Kolomytes (Moscow, Russia/Moscow High School 155) defeated Roman Silin, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in the number three match to give UB a 2-1 overall lead. Nikesh Singh Panthlia (George Town, Malaysia/BMK Penang Free School) followed at number two with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 decision over Alex Abji for the 3-1 edge.

Octavian Stane

The Bulls scored the fourth and clinching point in dramatic fashion as freshman Marcelo Mazzetto (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Carlos Magno) moved up to the number one spot on the ladder for the first time this season. Mazzetto went on to defeat Walter Garcia, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 and give UB the team victory. It was Garcia's first loss during the spring season as he had entered play Friday night 4-0 at number one singles.

UB finished off the sweep with wins at number five and six. At number five, Alexis Lluis (Mexico City, Mexico/Colegio Americano de Tabasco) needed three sets to down Collin Laffey, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. At number six, freshman Juan Carlos Wynter (Puebla, Mexico/American School) picked up his first collegiate victory with a win over Nick Bolea, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Niagara won the doubles point with victories in the number one and two matches. UB's duo of Singh Panthlia and Lluis won at number three, 8-2, over Steve Kopf and Laffey.

With the win over the Purple Eagles, UB extended its all-time mark against Niagara to 94-3-1. The Bulls host regional rival St. Bonaventure on Sunday at the Village Glen at 11:00 am.

Buffalo 6, Niagara 1

Doubles

1 Marc Dickinson/Roman Silin (NU) d. Kirill Kolomytes/Marcelo Mazzetto (UB), 8-5

2 Walter Garcia/Alex Abji (NU) d. Octavian Stane/Juan Carlos Wynter (UB), 8-2

3 Nikesh Singh Panthlia/Alexis Lluis (UB) d. Steve Kopf/Collin Laffey (NU), 8-2

Order of finish: 3 2 1

Singles

1 Marcelo Mazzetto (UB) d. Walter Garcia (NU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

2 Nikesh Singh Panthlia (UB) d. Alex Abji (NU), 6-3, 5-7, 7-5

3 Kirill Kolomytes (UB) d. Roman Silin (NU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

4 Octavian Stane (UB) d. Marc Dickinson (NU), 6-3, 6-1

5 Alexis Lluis (UB) d. Collin Laffey (NU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2

6 Juan Carlos Wynter (UB) d. Nick Bolea (NU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

Order of finish: 4 3 2 1 5 6