The Oswego State men’s tennis team blanked non-conference foe Keystone College with a 9-0 victory at the Romney Tennis Courts on Thursday.
Oswego State began the contest earning three quick points in doubles play as all three Laker doubles pairs picked up wins, including junior Alex McCarthy and freshman Brian Lyudmer at first doubles with an 8-1 win.
“I felt like we did a great job at coming to the net and putting away our volleys,” McCarthy said. “We scored some quick points, found our ground strokes and placed our serves really well.”
Lakers Sam Moores and John Stanford followed suit behind McCarthy and Lyudmer capturing another point at third doubles. Spencer Thorn and Timothy Van Hine Jr. were responsible for capturing Oswego State’s third point in as many matches when the two fired off eight-straight wins, despite being down 3-0 in the early goings. The duo downed their opponents by a final score of 8-3.
Oswego State continued to dominate, as it did not relinquish a single point to the Giants throughout the contest. In singles play, McCarthy and teammate Ryan Korn cruised past their opponents at first and second singles with scores of 6-0 and 6-1 apiece, raising the team to a total of five points and ensuring the win.
“I went into today’s game with a positive mindset,” Korn said. “In the last game I played, I fell behind because of pace, so I worked on serves and coming to the net more often. That’s what I prepared on for this match and I feel like I executed it pretty well.”
Another notable Laker performance belonged to Tyler BuxBaum, who blanked his opponent at sixth singles and set a new personal record with 8 aces.
“My biggest weakness going into the Keystone game was my serve, and I think my personal record indicates how hard I’ve worked,” BuxBaum said. “The team really came together in horrible windy and rainy conditions and we were able to pull out the win, as indicated by our scores.”
With the recent influx of cancellations and postponed matches due to weather conditions, head coach Bob Friske believes the team should simply focus on its next opponent.
“I try to keep my group of guys focused as much as possible,” Friske said. “That’s the big thing: Talking to players about being mature and not letting the change in schedule throw them off.”
The Lakers currently sit at 2-2 for their spring season and are 4-4 overall. They will be back in action on Tuesday for a home match against Keuka College.
