With a weekend trip to Pittsburgh, the men's tennis team split two matches. The Bulls won 6-0 against Robert Morris and lost 4-3 to Duquesne.
Buffalo (4-11) went into Saturday's match against Robert Morris (5-11) on a six-game losing streak. However, Buffalo broke through, winning all six singles matches against the Colonials.
Due to bad weather, the games were played indoors and the doubles matches were cancelled.
The Bulls got straight set wins from three players. In first singles, senior Nikesh Singh Panthlia easily defeated Nick Paganetti, 6-1, 6-0. In second singles, freshman Marcelo Mazzetto had trouble in the first set, winning in a tiebreaker 7-6 against the Colonials' David Pinto. In the second set, Mazzetto breezed by Pinto, 6-0.
The last player to win in straight sets for Buffalo was sophomore Eric Rothstein in sixth singles. Rothstein beat Daniel Becker, 6-0, 6-2.
In the all other matches, Buffalo lost the first set, but they were able to overcome the deficits to win each match.
In third singles, Robert Morris's Mateusz Wodzinski put up a strong fight against junior Octavian Stane. Wodzinski won the first set 6-4, but Stane came back to win the final two sets, 6-2 and 6-4.
Freshman Juan Carlos Wynter dropped the first set 4-6 to the Colonials' Sean Curley. Wynter was able to bounce back and win the next two sets, 6-1, 6-2.
Junior Alexis Lluis also was also victimized in his first set, but clawed back to win his match. Lluis was downed by Robert Morris's Robert Switzer 3-6 early on, but won the final two sets, 6-1, 6-1.
On Sunday, the Bulls battled the Duquesne Dukes. Buffalo couldn't hold onto its lead and lost 4-3.
Buffalo was able to take the first point in doubles play thanks to wins by the teams of Panthlia and Stane, 8-5, as well as Mazzetto and Wynter, 8-4.
The Bulls couldn't carry momentum into singles play, as they lost four out of six games to Duquesne (16-5).
Panthlia did his part in winning his match in first singles. He won in three sets over Duquesne's Michael Ortega, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.
The only other player to win in singles for Buffalo was Stane in third singles. This is the fourth straight victory for Stane in singles play. He defeated Zach Skorupka in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
The Dukes won all the matches from fourth down to sixth in straight sets. Mikhael Rasner beat Wynter 6-2, 7-6 in fourth singles. Lluis was downed by Mark Maciuch 6-3, 6-3 in fifth singles. Gustavo Villares defeated Rothstein in sixth singles, 6-3, 6-2.
The deciding point for the victory took place in second singles between Mazzetto and Duquesne's Jeremy McClelland. Mazzetto dropped the first set, 7-5, but rebounded to win the second set 6-2. The third set was close, but Mazzetto did not have enough to win, as he lost 6-4, giving the Dukes the last point to win the match.
Buffalo returns home this weekend as they host two matches. On Saturday, March 29, the Bulls play defending Mid-American Conference champions Western Michigan. Matches are set to begin at 9 a.m. On Sunday, March 29, Buffalo faces Binghamton at 11 a.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
