Ithaca, N.Y. - The Ithaca men's tennis team (9-6) dropped a back-and-forth match 5-4 against Hobart (8-9) Tuesday afternoon at the Reis Tennis Center. The match was forced indoors when thunderstorms and rain moved into the region during the middle of the afternoon.

Ithaca built a 2-1 lead after the doubles matches as senior Josh Rifkin (Homestead/Ft. Wayne, ind.) and junior Jimmy Newton (Florida Virtual School/Englewood, Fla.) won in a tiebreak at first doubles and the pairing of freshman David Andersen (Hastings/Hastings on Hudson) and junior Josh Berggrun (Orange/Moreland Hills, Ohio) earned an 8-6 win at second doubles. Rifkin and freshman David Andersen (Hastings/Hastings on Hudson) added wins in singles play.

The Bombers wrap up the regular season Sunday with a match at Stevens, which will decide the Empire 8 regular-season title. Ithaca will host the Empire 8 Men's Tennis Championships May 7-8 at the Reis Tennis Center.

Hobart vs Ithaca
04/26/11 at Ithaca, N.Y.
(Reis Tennis Center)

Hobart 5, Ithaca 4

Singles competition
1. Josh RIFKIN (IC) def. Bruce Grant (HOB) 6-3, 6-1
2. Matt Hursh (HOB) def. Jimmy NEWTON (IC) 6-2, 6-3
3. Sam DeLuccia (HOB) def. Josh BERGGRUN (IC) 6-3, 6-2
4. Alex James (HOB) def. Griffin REID (IC) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
5. David ANDERSEN (IC) def. Kevin Bates (HOB) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Harry King (HOB) def. Steve OCHS (IC) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Jimmy NEWTON/Josh RIFKIN (IC) def. Bruce Grant/Alex James (HOB) 9-8 (7-5)
2. David ANDERSEN/Josh BERGGRUN (IC) def. Matt Chin/Matt Hursh (HOB) 8-6
3. Kevin Bates/Sam DeLuccia (HOB) def. Les BOWDEN/Dan LEVINE (IC) 8-5

Team Records:
Hobart 8-9
Ithaca 9-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,3,6,4,5)