Box Score (PDF)
 
CANTON, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's tennis team opened the Liberty League campaign on Sunday afternoon when it traveled to the North Country for a dual at St. Lawrence University. The Bombers evened their 2018 record at 1-1 with a 6-3 decision against the Saints in their inaugural match as a Liberty League affiliate.
 
One week after kicking off the spring season with a difficult contest against University of Rochester, IC looked to be in prime form on Sunday. Ithaca took home victories in the second and third singles flights, while it sealed the match with wins in four-of-six singles tilts in the win. Key to the day was Ithaca's strong start in pairs.
 
Doubles
1. Eric Tecce/Leo Romanetz (SLU) def. Sam McGrath/Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos (ITHACA) | 9-8 (7-3)
2. Minos Stavrakas/Colten Lavery (ITHACA) def. Joshua Marvald/Spencer Whitmire (SLU) | 8-5
3. Max Prestwich/Liam Spiegel (ITHACA) def. Jordan Mamelak/Alec Roslin (SLU) | 8-6
 
Singles
1. Minos Stavrakas (ITHACA) def. Eric Tecce (SLU) | 6-2, 6-4
2. Sam McGrath (ITHACA) def. Leo Romanetz (SLU) | 7-5, 1-6, 6-1
3. Spencer Whitmire (SLU) def. Colten Lavery (ITHACA) | 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Max Prestwich (ITHACA) def. Jordan Mamelak (SLU) | 6-7 (9-11), 6-0, 7-5
5. Alec Roslin (SLU) def. Liam Spiegel (ITHACA) | 7-6 (10-8), 6-2
6. Lorenzo Viguie-Ramos (ITHACA) def. Arman Tavana (SLU) | 4-6, 6-3, 10-7
 
Ithaca got on the board first with a comfortable 8-5 triumph in the second flight of doubles. The combo of Stavrakas and Lavery took down the Saints tandem of Marvald and Whitmire in an 8-5 decision. Shortly thereafter, IC's Prestwich and Spiegel scored their second victory as a tandem this spring with an 8-6 win over Mamelak and Roslin. The quick strikes gave IC an early 2-0 lead.
 
The Bombers nearly took a clean sweep in the doubles portion with a victory in the top flight; however, St. Lawrence was able to pull out a crucial victory to get back in the match. Tecce and Romanetz were able to pull ahead in a tiebreaker. With the flight tied at 8-8, the Saints' tandem was able to score a break to score a 7-3 win in the tiebreak. Despite the setback, IC still held the advantage heading into singles action.
 
The singles portion of the match was also tightly contested. Stavrakas put Ithaca back ahead by two at 3-1. He was on-point from the start, tallying two breaks in the first set en route to a 6-2 win. The second set was slightly tighter; however, Stavrakas scored the extra break to take the matchup in straight sets with a 6-4 triumph. The two-point lead was not held long, as St. Lawrence clawed back with Roslin's straight-sets win in the fifth flight. The first set of that contest was extremely close, as Spiegel took him to a tiebreak that went several extra points, before Roslin scored the decisive break to take the set 7-6 (10-8). The loss seemed to kill Spiegel's momentum, with Roslin taking the second frame 6-2.
 
The Bombers pushed St. Lawrence to the brink when Sam McGrath took the second flight in a three-set thriller against Leo Romanetz. The matchup was characterized by wild swings. McGrath took the opening set 7-5; however, Romanetz punched back with a dominant 6-1 second frame to force a third frame. McGrath swiped the momentum back early in the third frame and never let Romanetz back, responding with a 6-1 win to put Ithaca up 4-2 in the match.
 
Although St. Lawrence was able to again close the deficit to one at 4-3 when Lavery came up on the wrong end of a three-setter in which he led the Saints' Spencer Whitmire by a set, Prestwich sealed the deal in the fourth flight. The IC sophomore actually dropped the opening flight in a tiebreak that went 20-points deep, but Prestwich responded with a 6-1 win in the second set to send the match to a third set. Initially it looked as if the Saints might equal the match when IC's netter went down 5-2 in the third frame, but Prestwich bounced back to win five straight games to take the third set 7-5 and clinch the match.
 
Viguie-Ramos put the cap on the match with a win in the sixth flight. Like Prestwich, Viguie-Ramos fell in the first set, but rallied to take the final two frames. The third-set was decided in a 10-7 superbreaker.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, March 3, when it hosts Union in another Liberty League match to be held at Cornell's Reis Tennis Center. Action is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.