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Men's Tennis Weekly Release

Bulls Split Matches With Local Rivals

The UB men’s team split its weekend home series with local rivals Niagara and St. Bonaventure. After spotting Niagara the opening doubles point, the Bulls scored victories in all six singles matches to defeat the Purple Eagles, 6-1. The Bulls then returned to the court on Sunday, falling to St. Bonaventure, 4-3, as UB picked up wins from the top three singles slots.

Three Sets the Norm Against Purple Eagles

Nikesh Singh Panthlia

In Friday’s match against Niagara, 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. Nikesh Singh Panthlia (George Town, Malaysia/BMK Penang Free School) won at number two with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 decision over Alex Abji and Kirill Kolomytes (Moscow, Russia/Moscow High School 155) defeated Roman Silin, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in the number three match. 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.

Top Three Collect Wins Over Bonnies

Marcello Mazzetto

Against St. Bonaventure, UB's top three singles players scored wins, but it was too late as the Bonnies had taken the bottom three matches to secure the fourth point and the win. Mazzetto improved to 2-0 at the number one spot with his 6-0, 7-5 victory over St. Bonaventure's Leo Mochizuki. At number two, Singh Panthlia scored a 6-2, 6-4 win against Victor Lecina. In the number three match, Kolomytes defeated Jonathan Luce, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles Troubles

A key stat to UB’s rough start this season has been the fact that the Bulls have won the opening doubles point just once so far and that came in UB’s 4-3 loss to UC-Davis. In the UC-Davis match, the doubles were played after the singles, unlike the normal format. UB scored one doubles win in both of its weekend matches against Niagara and St. Bonaventure but was unable to get the second win necessary for the opening point. Against the Purple Eagles, the number three tandem of Singh Panthlia and Lluis, in their first pairing this season, scored a win while Kolomytes and Wynter, playing together for the first time, took the number one doubles match against St. Bonaventure on Sunday.