The men's tennis team is no stranger to 4-3 decisions.
On Saturday, the No. 72 Bulls (5-1) defeated Marist (1-2) 4-3 - their third straight 4-3 victory - in Poughkeepsie. This season, all five of the Bulls' victories have come by 4-3 margins.
In each of the Bulls' five wins, there has been a key contributor who has pulled out a pivotal match for the victory. This week, it was freshman Jonathan Hannestad who provided the needed point. He defeated the Red Foxes' Matteo Giudici (6-3, 2-6, 6-3) to clinch the win for the Bulls.
But head coach Lee Nickell said the victory was a team effort.
"Every match we've had has come down to a different player," Nickell said. "This week, it was Jonathan Hannestad. [But the] whole team's stepped up."
The Bulls started off the match on Saturday sweeping the doubles round. The duo of junior Damien David and sophomore Akhil Mehta defeated the Red Foxes' Will Reznek and Lorenzo Rossi 8-7 after clinching the tiebreaker.
Hannestad and sophomore Sergio Arevalillio, along with junior Sebastian Ionescu and sophomore Pablo Alvarez, won their doubles matches 8-3 and 8-6, respectively.
The Bulls alternated victories with Marist in the singles matches before Hannestad clinched the win.
Though Nickell was pleased again with another win, he still sees plenty of room for improvement.
"[I'm] pleased we're winning matches 4-3, but we need a match where we dominate," Nickell said. "We're playing well, but we need a complete match."
Nickell said the team's focus is good but needs to be better for next week.
The Bulls will be back on the road this weekend when they face New Jersey Institute of Technology (6-1) on Friday. It will be the first of six straight on the road for the Bulls. The match is set for 4 p.m.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
