For the first time since 2008, the Oswego State men’s tennis team found itself on the winning side of a match, sweeping Sage Colleges, 9-0, on Tuesday at Prospect Park in Troy, N.Y.
The Lakers notched their first win since a 7-2 victory over Elmira College on May 3, 2008. It was their first 9-0 win since March 31, 2007, when they again defeated Elmira.
"Who doesn’t like to win?" senior Jeff McGovern said. "Especially since we haven’t tasted it in so long. In the words of my father, ‘winning isn’t everything, but it sure is better than losing.’"
Oswego State won 12 of the 13 sets to improve its record to 1-4 this season. Sage’s Mackenzie Riley took the second set from senior Tom Loughrey at first singles, 6-1, after losing the first set, 6-1. Loughrey recovered to win the match, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2. The win was Loughrey’s first singles victory of the season. Last season, Loughrey was one of only two players on the roster to record a singles victory.
Freshman Ben Weiss and sophomore Brian Tosti did not drop a game during their respective matches. Weiss defeated Sage’s Fabian Torres, 6-0, 6-0, and Tosti defeated Sage’s Bryan Kelly, 6-0, 6-0, each earning their second individual victory this season.
Senior Ben Noonan recorded his first singles victory of the season with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Sage’s Joshua Hewitt. Seniors Paul Knierman and Seth Hastings contributed to the singles sweep with straight-set victories over their respective opponents. Knierman defeated Chris Buskey, 6-1, 6-0, while Hastings defeated Jaret Falkowitz, 6-0, 6-1. Hastings victory over Falkowitz gave him his team-leading third singles victory of the season.
"Going into the match we knew we had a good chance knowing Sage’s results against schools we’d also played," Noonan said. "We all knew we hadn’t won since 2008, but you wouldn’t have known it watching the way we played."
The Oswego State Loughrey/Noonan first doubles team tested by Sage’s Riley and Hewitt in a close 8-6 match. The tandam of Loughrey and Noonan earned their first doubles triumph.
The second doubles pair of Sawyer and Hastings and the third doubles pair of McGovern and sophomore Dillon Corbett each recorded 8-0 victories over Sage’s second and third doubles teams, respectively. McGovern and Corbett are a team-best 2-1 this season as doubles partners.
The Lakers hit the road again on Monday, April 18, to face St. John Fisher in Rochester, N.Y.
