Rockman breaks single season wins record

UB dominated local rival Niagara University on Thursday at the UB Tennis Center on North Campus, winning with a score of 6-1.

The story of the day, however, was UB's Mike Rockman, who broke the single-season record for most singles victories in a season.

The Bulls were able to sweep the singles matches for the day, but they missed the complete sweep by losing the doubles point. Only one singles match went into a third set on Sunday, with Nick Zieziula's match against Walter Garcia decided in a super-tiebreaker. Zieziula eventually won, 10-3.

Rockman recorded his 25th win of the season against Niagara's Erick Garcia in straight sets. Though he knew where he stood historically, Rockman did not let that affect his play on Thursday.

"I had to play well today," Rockman said. "I tried not to focus on it, but it came into my head towards the end a little bit."

Rockman, a sophomore, has been consistent, losing only 12 matches against his 25 victories this year. Though he is having his best season with the Bulls, Rockman is no stranger to 20-win seasons, as he posted one in his freshman year.

"This season has been pretty good for me, I just have been able to focus on every match, I've been able to focus and just play like I always do for every match," he said.

With the aid of Rockman's 25th victory of the season, the Bulls were able to improve their record to 7-8 on the season, with their conference record staying static at 2-2.

The Bulls dropped the doubles point to the Purple Eagles, which is hard to overcome anytime, but when a team can come back and win every singles match, the doubles point doesn't seem as important.

"We put pressure on our one and two doubles, and the two did not play well today, and the three played as expected," said Bulls head coach Russ Crispell. "They played close, but they just did not pull off the win."

UB's number one doubles tandem of Zieziula and Yules Hadisubroto was the only victorious Buffalo pair on Thursday, winning their match, 8-4. The number two pairing of Albert Alant and Matt Kennedy dropped an 8-3 decision, and the number three doubles of Joe Popielarczyk and Mike Zappone lost by a final score of 9-7.

In singles, after Zieziula's and Rockman's victories, Hadisubroto defeated Niagara's Justin McConkey 6-3, 6-0. Josh Liederman topped Alex Abji 6-3, 6-0 at number four singles. At number five Kennedy beat Joe Dante 6-1, 6-1, and Alant beat Greg Kaufman 6-1, 6-0 at number six.

The Bulls scheduled this non-conference match in order to stay sharp and ready themselves for their upcoming match against IPFW.

"Going into the match, I knew we were pretty strong, but this was a really good opportunity for us to really get warmed up for our next match," said Crispell. "This is a good barometer and a good opportunity for us to adjust."

The team returns to action on Saturday against IPFW, who are coming off a 5-2 victory against Eastern Illinois. Crispell looks forward to this match as a chance for the Bulls to show where they stand against strong talent.

"It's about mental toughness," said Crispell. "We've got a chance to prove ourselves big time against (Indiana-Purdue University) Fort Wayne."

The match starts at the Ellicott Tennis Courts on UB's North Campus on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. After that match, the Bulls pack their bags and head to Kalamazoo, Mich. for the Mid-American Conference championships, which start April 28.