Box Score (PDF)
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's tennis team got its spring season underway on Sunday afternoon when it took on a talented University of Rochester outfit at Goergen Athletic Center. Although the Bombers battled hard in both the doubles and singles portion of play, the Yellowjackets were able to pull away from the Bombers for a 7-2 victory in the first competition action of the spring. The loss drops IC's record to 0-1 in dual matches this season.
 
"The men competed extremely hard today," head coach Bill Austin said. "Obviously, it was not the result that we were hoping for, but I am proud of the way the team came out and competed in a challenging matchup during the early season. We will get back to work and hope to continue heading in the right direction when we enter Liberty League play next weekend."
 
University of Rochester 7 – Ithaca College 2
Doubles
1. Masaru Fujimaki/Peter Huang (Rochester) def. Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos/Sam McGrath (Ithaca) | 8-3
2. Tanmay Thakkar/Sahaj Somani (Rochester) def. Minos Stavrakas/George Lomas (Ithaca) | 8-4
3. Liam Spiegel/Max Prestwich (Ithaca) def. Jun Yuminaga/Mattias Hartveit (Rochester) | 8-7 (9-7)
Singles
1. Masaru Fujimaki (Rochester) def. Minos Stavrakas (Ithaca) | 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Sam McGrath (Ithaca) def. Jun Yuminaga (Rochester) | 6-4, 6-3
3. Tanmay Thakkar (Rochester) def. Max Prestwich (Ithaca) | 6-2, 6-3
4. Yifan Shen (Rochester) def. Liam Spiegel (Ithaca) | 6-1, 6-2
5. Sahaj Somani (Rochester) def. Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos (Ithaca) | 4-6, 6-1, 10-3
6. Leo Koblence (Rochester) def. George Lomas (Ithaca) | 6-2, 1-6, 10-7
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,3,2,1,5,6)
 
The Bombers dug an early hole during the doubles portion of the competition. Although IC's top two tandems held their own against the Yellowjackets, Rochester was able to pull out to a 2-0 lead in the team score.
 
Needing a spark heading into the singles portion of the competition, the Bombers were able to score a big result in the third flight to pull back into the match. Liam Spiegel and Max Prestwich battled back and forth against Rochester's Jun Yuminaga and Mattias Hartveit, finishing 7-all through 14 games. The matchup would go to a tiebreak, which also was too close to call. Finally, Spiegel and Prestwich were able to score the break they needed to pull out the crucial point in a 9-7 tiebreaker victory.
 
Trailing 2-1 there was still much work left to do. Unfortunately, the depth of Rochester's talented lineup showed up brightly in the middle flights. Yifan Shen got things started with a 6-1, 6-2 straight-sets triumph over Liam Spiegel.  The Yellowjackets' Tanmay Thakkar extended the home sides lead to 4-1 when he bested IC's Prestwich 6-2, 6-3.
 
The Bombers were able to stave off Rochester for one flight, as the Bombers scored a must-have win in the second flight to stay alive in the match. Sam McGrath looked impressive in his first action this spring, scoring a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Jun Yuminaga. The win brought the team score to 4-2.
 
Unfortunately, the Yellowjackets were able to pull out the close matchups down the stretch to score the victory. In the top flight, Minos Stavrakas took the first set from Rochester's top singles entrant Masaru Fujimaki 6-4; however, he was unable to finish off the win. Fujimaki took 6-4 wins in the second and third sets to pull out the clinching victory.
 
Both the fifth and sixth flights went to third-set super breakers. Viguie-Ramos won his first set, but could not finish off the second frame. The third-set tiebreaker went 10-3 in favor of Rochester. George Lomas rounded things off in the sixth flight. After dropping the first set, he battled back with a 6-1 win the second set to force a super-breaker. The third set was close, but Rochester's Koblence pulled out the 10-7 decision to finish off the 7-2 match score.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Sunday, February 25, when it takes on St. Lawrence in the Liberty League opener in Canton, N.Y. The match is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.