Men’s Tennis Adds Two For 2009-10

Wojtek Starakiewicz joins the Bulls from Tulsa and George Tibil from Belgium

Wojtek Starakiewicz

BUFFALO, NY – First-year head coach Lee Nickell has announced the addition of two student-athletes that will join the University at Buffalo men’s tennis program this upcoming Fall. Wojtek Starakiewicz (Wroclaw, Poland/ Miguela de Cervantesa/Tulsa) joins the Bulls as a transfer from Tulsa and will have three years of eligibility left and George Tibil (Belgium/Institut des Dames de Marie) is a freshman from Belgium.

“We are very lucky to have George and Wojtek joining the Buffalo Tennis Family this Fall,” said Nickell. “We have set our goals high in recruiting individuals with great character and dedication to being exceptional student-athletes and George and Wojtek meet this criteria perfectly.”

Starakiewicz played in the Spring 2009 for Tulsa, one of the top teams in the country. Starakiewicz went 5-4 on the season, seeing most of his action at fifth singles, but did step in to play second singles in the highly-competitive Conference USA. While in Poland, Starakiewicz won the Under-18 Polish Championships in both singles and doubles. He also picked up a bronze medal in doubles at the Polish National Championships and has Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) points in both singles and doubles. He also made one final of 15k Futures in 2007.

“Wojtek has had a distinguished junior career internationally and in Poland,” said Nickell. “Being the national champion in both singles and doubles, and also having some success on the Futures tour makes him a fantastic addition to the squad. Wojtek has a reputation for hard work and being a great team guy, and we look forward to having him here in the Fall. Wojtek also brings collegiate experience as he played last year in Conference USA, which is a very challenging tennis conference.”

George Tibil

Tibil joins the Bulls from Belgium, where he is ranked one of the top 100 players in the country. In 2008 he was ranked 41st on the Belgian Circuit and has a win over the 42nd ranked player in the country. He has reached several semifinals and finals in Men’s Category 1 tournaments and in 2007 he won the Bolletieri Cup U18 and a Men’s Category 1 tournament.

“George has experienced a great deal of success in his native Romania and Belgium,” said Nickell. “He has a very dangerous game with the ability to play big and he loves to work hard. George has been training with former ATP touring professionals and is getting better day by day. I know he will have a great career here at Buffalo.”

The Bulls will begin their 2009-10 campaign September 4-6 at St. Bonaventure.