The men's tennis team started off the weekend with a bang by defeating the Manhattan Jaspers on Friday night. But the Bulls could not stay hot as they dropped their first Mid-American Conference match on Sunday against Toledo.
The Manhattan Jaspers (0-3) were no match for Buffalo on Friday night as the Bulls (3-6, 0-1 MAC) were in the driver's seat for both their doubles and singles matches making it look all too easy on their way to a 7-0 win.
"Their number one and two players were pretty weak down below and basically it was just a matter of playing steady," said Buffalo head coach Sharif Zaher. "In our number one and two matches, our guys played pretty well. They stayed aggressive and managed to convert in big moments."
Buffalo started off the night by stealing the doubles point for the second straight match. The Bulls set the tone by winning all three of their doubles matches, taking a 1-0 lead. In the first doubles match, Buffalo senior Nikesh Singh Panthlia and freshman Marcelo Mazzetto defeated Manhattan's Mihai Nichifor and Peter Czink, 8-6.
The next two doubles matches would not be as close, as the number two team of freshman Juan Carlos Wynter, and sophomore Kirill Kolomytes beat up on the Jasper's Michael Borger and Jeff Conklin, 8-0. Buffalo finished off the sweep in the doubles with junior Octavian Stane and freshman Ezra Bernstein defeating Manhattan's Chris Tucci and Will Earl, 8-2.
The Bulls carried their momentum from their doubles into their singles matches where they put together a nearly flawless performance by winning all six matches, five of which came in straight sets, and three double shutout wins.
Sing Panthlia played in Buffalo's only close match of the night, where he bested Nichifor, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9). Mazzetto ended up winning in straight sets over Filip Szymik, 6-0, 1-0. Kolomytes also won in straight sets, defeating Borger, 6-0, 6-1.
Stane, Wynter, and junior Alexis Lluis all put up double bagels for the Bulls when they beat each of their Manhattan opponents by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
With two straight victories, Buffalo had hoped to bring some momentum into its first MAC match of the year against Toledo (8-6, 0-1 MAC). Instead, the Bulls collapsed in extra sets.
The Bulls started off by losing all three of their doubles matches, giving Toledo an early 1-0 advantage heading into singles play. Buffalo certainly did not lay down in singles play, as they would force four of their six matches into extra sets.
"We definitely had a chance in at least three of the singles matches that went to extra sets, and [then] lost the matches. [In the] second and third sets, the guys could not put the matches away," Zaher said. "Toledo, to their credit, managed to keep their composure under pressure and came up big when they had to. It just went their way today."
Wynter went on to lose to Toledo's Jay Miller, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Tyler Sorkin took down Stane, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4. Kolomytes was defeated by Sven Burus, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, and Mazzetto dropped his bout in three to Toledo's Jared Miller, 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-2.
After blanking his opponent in the Manhattan match, Lluis was shut out by Toledo's Nutthavit Likitkumchorn, 6-0, 6-0.
Buffalo's lonely win came from Panthlia, when he defeated Toledo's Chris Clark in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
"This isn't the first time we lost, and this isn't the first time we lost a close match either. So it's not any different. I mean a loss is a loss - it never feels good whether it's a close match or not," Zaher said.
The Bulls will travel to Chicago on Friday, March 7 for a match against the DePaul Blue Demons.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
