Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Men’s Tennis struggles

The Massachusetts men’s tennis squad made their mark in Ithaca, NY this weekend with a strong showing at the Cornell Invitational. This pre-season tournament provided a much-needed warm-up for the Minutemen, who will face some serious competition in the Atlantic 10 this spring.

Though freshman Brent Davis was the lone member of the team to advance to third round action 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in flight A, the majority of the players had a very strong showing in this tournament, which included conference rival St. Bonaventure.

Senior Bill Greener, playing in flight C, persevered after losing a match to advance to the second round. Junior Todd Champeau and freshman Phil Rodrigues enjoyed similar success as they breezed past their competition into round two.

Doubles play included the victorious tandem of Steve Prisco and Davis, which advanced to Saturday action in flight A. Champeau and Will Shaw as well as Rodrigues and Greener also moved on to the next day of play.

Unfortunately for the Minutemen, No. 1 player Steve Prisco, who has been struggling with a bad shoulder, was defeated early in the first round on Friday. Another concern for the team is the unknown status of No. 3 Aron Gortman, who unexpectedly did not play in the invitational due to back spasms.

‘Steve has been going through physical therapy and he didn’t serve at all last week,’ assistant coach Scott Wilkins said. ‘Since he’s a serve and volley player, that affected him in the tournament. As for Aron, we won’t know his status until tomorrow. We’re being very cautious with both players right now.’

After a strong win against St. Bonvaenture’s, No. 1 Villi Nurmi, Davis lost in the Saturday quarterfinals to Cornell’s top player Greg Artet 6-0, 6-2. Champeau, Greener and Rodrigues failed to advance to the quarterfinals after moving on to the second round in their respective flights.

‘Overall it was a good showing. The main reason we played was to get ready for conference play. The best win that we had was definitely from Brent,’ Wilkins said.

The next battle for the Maroon and White takes place Feb. 18 at 12:30 p.m. as they host Colgate at Hampshire College. The Red Raiders play a solid brand of tennis that could give the UMass squad trouble if they are not one hundred percent healthy come game time.

‘The most important thing is our health. If we don’t have Aron, that’s going to hinder us,’ Wilkins said. ‘Colgate is very similar to us. Even though we are a deep team, we need everyone to be one hundred percent. If that happens, then we have a good shot.’

‘In practice you’re more relaxed, and then you tighten up in matches. We need to simulate that before the matches start,’ said Champeau. ‘We definitely have the talent. They don’t have any huge stars, but their number one is as good as their number six. Everyone’s going to have a tough match.’

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