The Oswego State men’s Tennis team lost its first game of the season against Nazareth College. The Lakers started their Empire 8 season at home.

The Lakers first match of the season was complicated, as they faced the current runners-up of the Empire 8. However, it was a very close match, with the Golden Flyers winning 4-3 overall.

Everything started with Ethan Bannochie and Anthony Marcano losing their first game in the doubles against Max Funiciello and Griffin Bond, with the set ending 6-3. In the second doubles match, Austin Davis and Matthew Mannara of the Lakers won with the same score against Noah Britton and Chris Benedict of the Golden Flyers. For the last doubles match, Colin Byer and Tyler Yhun would face Pierre Ntonga and Enoch Li to decide who had the two-to-one advantage in the singles matches. The Lakers came out on top with a comfortable win, 6-2.

After the three doubles matches, the individual matches begin with the winner of the best of the two sets. Starting with a straightforward victory of two sets to zero, Bond beat Davis 6-3, followed by a 6-2. Funiciello secured his victory over Mannara, extending the advantage for the Golden Flyers. Funiciello won the first set 6-2, but Mannara didn’t let the defeat go easy, forcing it into the third set after a 6-2 lead in the second set. However, Funiciello secured the victory, making it 6-3.

Marcano and Bannochie won the third and fourth singles matches, again giving the Lakers the advantage. They beat Britton and Li, respectively. Both games were won by two sets to zero. Marcano won his first set 6-2 and the second 6-0. While Bannochie won his first set 6-0 and the second 6-2

In the fifth singles match of the day, Zachary Demot faced Pierre Ntonga and lost, having to retire in the last set. Demot won the first set and drew in the second when he had to retire. Fatigue began to take its toll on the Lakers, causing the Golden Flyers to win their sixth and final game. A victory by James Hawkins guaranteed the Golden Flyers’ first victory of the season and the Lakers first defeat.

The Lakers next game will be at home against St John Fisher University next Saturday, Sep. 21, at 11 a.m. on the Oswego Tennis Courts.

The Oswego women’s team won against St John Fisher University, extending their winning streak to five games. The game was planned to happen outside; however, due to the weather, it had to be moved to Romney Field House. With a safe win, the Lakers are guaranteed to stay unbeaten in this preseason with a 6-1 win.

The Lakers dominated the doubles and won all three games. The duo that most caught attention were Kathryn Salamida and Emily Lyga, who scored a 6-0 to win the match.  Emily DeLuca and Leah Bell maintained their undefeated status as a duo this season, winning their match by 6-2. Avery Borman and Isabella Eason also won their game.

In singles, the Lakers dominated once again, winning five of the six matches. Lilly Renzi was the only one to win a match for Fisher in the entire game against Rafaela Dimitrakopoulou. While Emily Lyga, Kathryn Salamida, Leah Bell, Emily DeLuca, and Avery Borman all took down their Cardinal opponents to guarantee another win for the Lakers.

DeLuca and Bell were named SUNYAC doubles team of the week for the second consecutive week after having two wins, one against the Fishers and the other over Farmingdale State. The duo is currently 4-0 this season.

The Lakers will now start their conference games, starting next Friday and Saturday against SUNY Brockport and SUNY Fredonia, respectively.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics