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Bulls Shoot Down Cardinals, 4-3
4/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – The University at Buffalo men's tennis team moved into third place in the Mid-American Conference standings with a 4-3 victory over visiting Ball State at the Miller Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
The Bulls (10-7, 2-2 MAC) won the doubles point with victories in the second and third matches. Travis Zappia and Marcelo Mazzetto combined at number two to defeat Zane Smith and Derek Carpenter, 8-6. UB clinched the point as the third doubles duo of Vusa Hove and George Tibil remained undefeated in dual play with a 9-7 win over Shaun Bussert and Austin Sansone. Hove and Tibil are 5-0 when paired together and it was the first time in two months following an injury that Tibil had been on the court.
After Ball State (12-14, 2-3 MAC) tied the match with a victory at fourth singles, the Bulls rebounded to take the next three matches to be completed and ensure the win.
Vusa Hove won his team leading 19th singles match this season and first in league play with his victory over Cliff Morrison at number two. Hove jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Morrison rallied to tie the set at 5-5. Hove then won the next eight games for the 7-5, 6-0 decision.
Alex Kalinin, at number six, and Wojciech Starakiewicz, at number one, won their matches in straight sets to give the Bulls the victory. Both players endured tiebreakers to come out victorious. Kalinin downed Sansone, 6-2, 7-6 (6) while Starakiewicz scored a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Dalton Albertin. Kalinin won his tiebreaker after facing a set point, trailing 6-5, before taking the next three points.
"The atmosphere was unbelievable. I'm really glad of how our guys came together," said UB head coach Lee Nickell. "Ball State is a very good team and for us to get our second win against them is good for the seniors. Now our goal is to keep the momentum for our match against Northern Illinois."
UB will face Northern Illinois (11-14, 1-3 MAC) on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm. The match will be the final home appearance for UB seniors Mitch Zenaty and Marcelo Mazzetto.
Buffalo 4, Ball State 3
Doubles
1 Dalton Albertin/Cliff Morrison (BSU) d. Wojciech Starakiewicz/Mitch Zenaty (UB), 8-6
2 Travis Zappia/Marcelo Mazzetto (UB) d. Zane Smith/Derek Carpenter (BSU), 8-6
3 Vusa Hove/George Tibil (UB) d. Shaun Bussert/Austin Sansone (BSU), 9-7
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1 Wojciech Starakiewicz (UB) d. Dalton Albertin (BSU), 7-6 (3), 6-2
2 Vusa Hove (UB) d. Cliff Morrison (BSU), 7-5, 6-0
3 Zane Smith (BSU) d. George Tibil (UB), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
4 Alexandre Brym (BSU) d. Marcelo Mazzetto (UB), 6-4, 6-0
5 Andres Monroy (BSU) d. Jason Simon (UB), 7-6 (5), 6-4
6 Alex Kalinin (UB) d. Austin Sansone (BSU), 6-2, 7-6 (6)
Order of finish: 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3
