By Gerard Turner

The Oswego State men’s tennis team enters the halfway mark of the season with a 2-2 record. They started the season off hot with two straight wins before losing their next two matches. They will have 10 days to prepare for their next game against Alfred University at 1 p.m. on April 10 at Romney Tennis Courts. 

Oswego State played its first game in over five months on March 26 against non-conference opponent, St. John Fisher College. These two teams previously met in Oswego State on Sept. 26 and the Lakers were able to come out on top with a 6-3 victory. However, on Saturday they were unable to complete the season sweep on the road as they lost the match 8-1. 

The Lakers went 0-3 in doubles matches and went 1-5 in singles matches. The one singles match win came from the hands of Ethan Bannochie who won his match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Bannochie could not get two wins on the day as he and his doubles partner Austin Davis lost their match 8-4. The doubles team of Anthony Salerno and Justin Schwab played well but lost a close battle 8-7. Salerno, Schwab and Davis also all lost their singles matches in straight sets. Salerno shared his thoughts on his doubles match. 

“Justin and I went down a few games early in the set against Fisher,” Salerno said. “We ended up coming back and bringing the set score to 7-4 before going down three games to put the score at 7-7. Ultimately we lost 6-8 in the tiebreak for the deciding game.” 

Salerno has played very well in doubles matches this season but has struggled in his singles matches. He was able to reflect on his performance through the first half of the season. 

“A few things that I think I have done well thus far are serving and being able to put points away at the net,” Salerno said. “One thing I can improve upon going into the second half of our season is working to be able to keep up with high-caliber players for the entirety of the match.” 

The Lakers have struggled in their previous 15 matches against St. John Fisher College and now have a 2-13 record against them since 2007. 

Oswego State will look to end this two-game losing streak behind the success of its two standouts, freshman Schwab and Bannochie. Schwab and Bannochie both have a team-best singles record of 2-1. These two teammates were doubles partners to open up the season and have a record of 2-0 together. They were able to cruise by 8-1 in their doubles match against Alfred University and they also won their doubles match in the first meeting against St. John Fisher College 8-4. 

Even with recent struggles, Lakers’ Coach Shane Evans shared his input on the team’s progress so far. 

“The men are great at reflecting on their matches,” Evans said. “Every win and loss is another opportunity to learn and grow as a player. Especially for our younger players, maintaining their mental composure during each competition has been difficult. This is where the upperclassmen have stepped up.” 

The Lakers came into the season with only playing seven games in the last two years due to COVID-19. Through the seven games played in the two shortened seasons, the Lakers posted a combined record of 0-7. Evans provided his comments on how those two seasons have impacted this year. 

“It allowed us to stay eager,” Evans said. “While our season may have been shortened, that time was crucial to maintaining our competitive edge.”

Evans looks to finish the remaining five games of the season on a positive note and hopes his doubles matches will improve to help this team in future games. Oswego State will be taking on Alfred University, Utica College, St. Lawrence University and SUNY Oneonta twice for their remaining five games that will stretch from April 10-29.

Image via Oswego State Athletics