Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh *
Bucknell Men's Tennis Rally Falls Short, Loses to Lehigh 4-3
4/14/2003 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 14, 2003
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's tennis team lost the doubles point on a tie-breaker, and had singles play come down to the final match, before losing to Lehigh 4-3 on Monday afternoon. The Bison won three of six singles, and one of the doubles bouts.
In doubles play, senior Todd Jacobs and freshman Asher Salam teamed up at number two to get BU an 8-2 victory over Andrew Shapiro and Jon Swanson. The Mountain Hawks got even with a 9-8 (5) win over sophomore Joe Menezes and freshman Aaron Saperstein at the third flight.
The doubles point came down to the play of Bucknell sophomores Nick Denefrio and Gerald DiChiara, and Lehigh's Ryan Cann and Ty Esler at number one. The partners made every point count, with the Mountain Hawks duo finally prevailing in a 9-8 (10-8) decision for the 1-0 lead.
Denefrio got the Orange and Blue on the board with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Cann at number one in singles play. After Lehigh claimed the second and third flights, Menezes brought it to 3-2 with his come-from-behind win at number four. Menezes lost the first set, 2-6, before coming back to beat Ditman 7-6 (3) and 6-2.
DiChiara made it a 3-3 match with another three-set victory for Bucknell. Shapiro won the first set, 6-3, but DiChiara responded with a 6-3 second set and a 6-4 third for the win.
Saperstein and Swanson were left to duke it out at the sixth seed, the winner determining the victor of the match. After losing the first set 7-6 (5), Saperstein responded with a 6-1 second set victory. The rookie then battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the third to make it a 5-5 set, before running out of steam in a 7-5 third set loss.
The Bison finish the Patriot League portion of their schedule at 0-5, the first time the team has ever gone winless in conference play. Bucknell is 3-16 overall and will host Bloomsburg for its final home match of the season at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Lehigh improves to 7-7 overall and 1-3 in Patriot League play.
Singles
1. Nick Denefrio (B) def. Ryan Cann - 6-3, 6-4.
2. Randall Smalley (L) def. Todd Jacobs - 6-4, 6-3.
3. Ty Esler (L) def. Asher Salam - 6-1, 7-6 (5).
4. Joe Menezes (B) def. Craig Ditman - 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
5. Gerald DiChiara (B) def. Andrew Shapiro - 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
6. Jon Swanson (L) def. Aaron Saperstein - 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-5.
Doubles
1. Cann/Esler (L) def. Denefrio/DiChiara - 9-8 (10-8).
2. Jacobs/Salam (B) def. Shapiro/Jon Swanson - 8-2.
3. Smalley/Ditman (L) def. Menezes/Saperstein - 9-8 (5).
