An invitation to the Bulls men's tennis team was sent out by the Dartmouth Big Green for a weekend of competition in Hanover, N.H. Unfortunately, Harvard was invited too.
The Crimson had the Bulls' number all weekend as well as the Marist Red Foxes, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Princeton Tigers, Manhattan Jaspers and McGill University of Quebec who rounded out the playing field.
In Buffalo's second visit to Dartmouth this fall, the competition level was stepped up a notch.
"It was tougher this time around," said assistant coach Nick Zieziula. "There were more teams, with more quality players, that depth made it tougher this time around."
Senior Mike Rockman led the team as he played flight A singles and doubles. After he received a first round bye, the 8th seeded Rockman defeated Antonio Oliver of Marist (6-4, 6-1) to advance to a quarterfinals match with Harvard's Aswin Kumar, one of the top 100 players in the nation.
Rockman opened the match winning the first set by a score of 6-4 but then fell in the second set, 7-5. Kumar then battled him in a third set super tie break and outlasted the Buffalo senior, 10-6.
In doubles, Rockman paired with his former partner, senior Albert Alant. Alant had just come off of an ankle injury that has hobbled him most of the season. Again Rockman faced Oliver and his partner Frank Algier, but this time Rockman and Alant came away victorious, 8-4.
They then advanced past the McGill duo of Vincent Menard and Troy Puddington by a score of 8-4.
The Buffalo tandem then took on Harvard's Kumar and Kieran Burke, the top seeded doubles pairing. The Bulls were little match for the duo as they fell, 8-1.
"Albert provided us with a spark," Zieziula said. "It was good to see him out there having fun. As a senior leader the intangibles he brings to the team really helps."
Junior Nikesh Singh Panthlia competed in the A bracket singles grouping and advanced through his first round match against Harvard's Michael Hayes, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7). He then ran into the 6th seed, Marist's Pedro Genovese. The two were familiar with each other, after Genovese defeated Singh Panthlia at Cornell last weekend. The result of this meeting was the same, with Singh Panthlia dispersed to the tune of a 6-4, 6-4 defeat.
Sophomore Octavian Stane won his opening match in the flight B bracket against Andrew Tervoonen of Rutgers (6-1, 6-1) before Harvard's Burke eliminated him 7-6, 6-3.
Freshman Eric Rothstein was given a first round bye before meeting up with the No. 1 ranked David Alvarado of Manhattan. Rothstein succumbed to the top player in his bracket by a score of 7-5, 6-3.
The tournament represented the team's final competition of the semester and brought the fall season to a close. The team looks to regain its health and enter the spring season with a complete roster.
The hiatus will serve as a time for the team to make adjustments and hone their skills for the spring campaign.
"We have tailored programs for each player but we will focus on our doubles a lot," Zieziula said. "We are going to continue to preach an attacking, aggressive form of tennis."
With Seniors Rockman, Alant and Yules Hadisubroto entering the final leg of their collegiate careers, the coaching staff is looking for big things from this triumvirate.
"They are a really special group of guys who we expect to some special things," Zieziula said.
With the senior leadership in place, the Bulls look to build on a strong fall season and enter spring with a passion and a fire to win.
The team is next in action on Jan. 19 in Riverdale, N.Y. against the Manhattan Jaspers.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
