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Men's tennis weekly release
4/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Bulls Score MAC Sweep to Claim First Place
The University at Buffalo men's tennis team moved into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference as the Bulls swept Chicago State (7-0) and Northern Illinois (5-2) in league play over the weekend. The Bulls moved above the .500 mark again and are now 9-8 overall (4-0 MAC) with two matches remaining in the regular season.
Third Set Rallies Give Bulls Win Over Huskies
In a battle of MAC unbeatens, the Bulls defeated Northern Illinois, who had come into the contest with a 3-0 league mark, by a 5-2 count, winning the top four matches, including three three-set victories in the top three contests. Both Damien David and Wojciech Starakiewicz needed to rally from first-set losses to claim their matches. David defeated Dor Amir 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, in the number one contest, while Starakiewicz downed Axel Lagerlof, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the number three match. Vusa Hove also won a three-set contest at number two, defeating Roman Turtygin, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Also scoring a singles victory was number four player Ivan Vereshchaga with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Maksym Bartiuk. In third sets, David and Starakiewicz both improved to 6-2. David has won his last three three-set contests while Starakiewicz has claimed victory in his last five that have gone the distance. Hove won his fourth three-set contest of the season.
David, Hove Closing in on Milestones
Freshman Damien David and junior Vusa Hove are closing in milestones as the regular season concludes this week. With his two wins in Illinois, David has now won 23 singles matches, the most since Nikesh Singh Panthlia claimed 24 in 2008 when he earned second-team All-MAC honors. Hove is one win shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the second time in his career. Hove went 20-12 last season and is currently tied with teammate Alex Kalinin for 10th in all-time singles wins with 53. With his 46 singles triumphs in three years, Wojciech Starakiewicz is tied for 12th with Octavian Stane.
Trip to Indy Concludes Regular Season
The Bulls make one final road trip for the regular season this weekend traveling to Muncie, IN to face Ball State on Saturday and IUPUI on Sunday. The Bulls can clinch their second regular season title in three seasons if they defeat the Cardinals on Saturday. Ball State, last season's MAC Tournament champions, are 2-2 in league play after splitting matches last week, defeating Toledo, 4-3, but falling at Western Michigan, 6-1. The Cardinals are 16-9 overall. The Bulls will be facing IUPUI for the first time in school history when the teams meet on neutral ground in Muncie. The Jaguars, members of the Summit League are 4-1 in league play and 10-14 overall, although five of the losses were to nationally ranked opponents, all by 7-0 margins.
