The Oswego State men’s tennis team is starting to get back on track following 5-4 wins over both Alfred University and Onondaga Community College this past week.
Junior Brian Emigholz defeated Alfred’s Reeder Bruffey in singles competition 6-1, 6-0. He followed that up with a doubles victory with teammate Chris Gayvert. Those wins were enough to give the Lakers the overall edge over the Saxons and end a two-game losing streak. It was a much-needed victory for the Lakers after falling 9-0 to both Houghton College and RIT in their previous two matchups last week. Oswego State followed up that performance with another 5-4 win in a scrimmage against OCC. Although the Lakers were blown out in both matchups previously, Emigholz is still happy with where the team is right now.
“I feel like we’ve played pretty well,” Emigholz said. “We had two tough losses against some pretty good teams, but other than that, we’ve won our last two, so it’s going pretty well.”
Senior Tyler Buxbaum was also victorious in his singles matchup against Alfred’s Ryan Brown 6-4, 6-2. He also put up a dominant performance in the scrimmage against OCC.
“We’ve been playing well compared to past seasons,” Buxbaum said. “We edged out two close wins over teams we’ve struggled with in the past. While we’ve had some setbacks against RIT and Houghton, they’re both considered to be the strongest teams we’ve faced this season.
Oswego State’s performance against both Alfred University and OCC were needed after difficult games the week before.
“We knew the challenge going in and when we faced Alfred and OCC,” Buxbaum said. “We thought they were going to be 50-50 at best and we edged them both out by one match.”
The team is winning close matchups against strong opponents. After suffering decisive defeats, the Lakers kept their composure in the clutch against teams like Elmira, OCC and Alfred University twice. Buxbaum says he has a lot of faith in this team getting more wins like these down the line.
“I think we have a strong four, five and six right now,” Buxbaum said. “We’re pulling out a lot of good wins when we need to, and our doubles performance has been the best it’s been in the four years I’ve been here, to be honest.”
Emigholz has played singles and doubles before and said it does not tire him unless the singles goes really long. He said practice helps because head coach Shane Evans helps him run a lot for endurance. Buxbaum has not played doubles since coming to Oswego State, and he never played in high school except for singles. He credits first-year head coach Evans with helping him learn quickly and be productive in doubles. Evans is happy with where the program is headed so far after the start they have had.
“When I come into a new team, there’s a culture already set, so I think it takes some time to set my own culture and my own expectations with the team,” Evans said. “I think they’ve come through with flying colors. I expect a lot of them, and they meet my standards and my expectations constantly. I think it’s carried us through tougher matches.”
Evans likes where things are going, and even though they are losing a lot of juniors and seniors, they are helping establish a new culture so the younger athletes can set that new culture. They can get used to a new system that can carry them far in the future, and Evans likes the results.
The Lakers look to build momentum and build that new system throughout the season. But first, Oswego State will look to play on April 9 against Le Moyne College at the Romney Tennis Courts for another scrimmage.
