HARTFORD, Conn. – The Ithaca College men's tennis team hit the road for its final regular-season match ahead of next week's Liberty League Tournament when it traveled to Hartford, Conn., to face NESCAC foe Trinity (Conn.) on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, the Bombers were unable to secure the non-league victory, falling in a competitive 6-3 final. The loss drops IC's record to 5-12 on the year.
 
The Bombers showed strong fight in the match. Trailing 2-1 out of the doubles session, the deficit grew to 4-1 during the early portion of singles play. Ithaca staved off the clinching point for a time with singles victories from juniors Minos Stavrakas and Max Prestwich in first-singles and fourth-singles, respectively. Sadly, the comeback bid fell short, as IC dropped a pair of competitive battles in the fifth and sixth slots. The Bantoms were able to escape with a 6-3 decision.
 
Doubles
1. Minos Stavrakas/Colten Lavery (ITHACA) def. Courtland Boyle/Ross DeRose (TRINITY) | 8-4
2. Chris Caskin/Dylan Powell (TRINITY) def. Max Prestwich/Michael Gardiner (ITHACA) | 8-6
3. Granville Kaynor/Christopher Bilicic (TRINITY) def. Liam Spiegel/Sam McGrath (ITHACA) | 8-2
 
Singles
1. Minos Stavrakas (ITHACA) def. Granville Kaynor (TRINITY) | 4-6, 6-1, 12-10
2. Ross DeRose (TRINITY) def. Sam McGrath (ITHACA) | 6-4, 3-6, 10-7
3. Christopher Bilicic (TRINITY) def. Colten Lavery (ITHACA) | 6-4, 6-1
4. Max Prestwich (ITHACA) def. Dylan Powell (TRINITY) | 6-0, 5-7, 10-5
5. Chris Caskin (TRINITY) def. Garrett Boleslav (ITHACA) | 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 10-1
6. Charles Kilborn (TRINITY) def. Sam Fried (ITHACA) | 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
 
The doubles session was highlighted by the performance of juniors Minos Stavrakas and Colten Lavery in the first-doubles matchup against Courtland Boyle and Ross DeRose. The IC tandem posted one of their best victories of the season, surging past the Bantoms top pairing for an 8-4 triumph. The win evened the match at 1-1, after the third-doubles battle went in favor of the hosts by an 8-2 score.
 
Trinity pulled ahead with the final victory of the doubles session when Chris Caskin and Dylan Powell were able to score a late break in an 8-6 triumph over junior Max Prestwich and senior Michael Gardiner in the second slot. The lead gave Trinity a momentum boost heading into singles play.
 
The singles session continued outdoors, but a steady rain picked up and forced play to retreat inside before matches could finish. Familiar with the change in surfaces and surroundings, the hosts used the venue shift to their advantage early on. Lavery dropped a 6-4, 6-1 decision to Christopher Bilicic, while McGrath was outlasted in another marathon battle in the second-singles matchup. Although he was able to force a third set with an excellent 6-3 win in the second set, but DeRose was able to score just enough winners in a 10-7 super-breaker. The two defeats put Trinity (Conn.) on the brink of the win leading 4-1.
 
Ithaca showed strong fight and nearly mounted the improbable comeback. Stavrakas responded to a tough 6-4 defeat in the opening set with a commanding 6-1 response in the second. The third-set super-breaker was an ferocious battle that went 22 total points with Stavrakas prevailing 12-10 in the thriller. Prestwich kept the comeback going with another three-set triumph in his fourth-singles matchup against Dylan Powell. It was a phenomenal start for Prestwich, who earned three service breaks in a 6-0 whitewashing in the opening set. Powell pushed back with a grueling 7-5 win in the second set, but Prestwich found an answer in the super-breaker, winning in a runaway 10-1.
 
Senior Garrett Boleslav looked to have an equalizer point lined up for a long time, but things slipped away in three-set comeback from Trinity's Chris Caskin. He had an opportunity to score the win in the second-set tiebreaker, but Caskin earned the final two points to take the breaker 8-6, before pulling away in the third-set super-breaker. Junior Sam Fried also came up just shy in a pair of competitive sets in his sixth-slot matchup against Charles Kilborn. He dropped the opening set by a 7-4 margin in a tiebreaker, while the second set nearly went the distance as well, with Fried falling 6-4.
 
Ithaca will be back in action on Friday, May 3, when it begins Liberty League Tournament play with the Quarterfinal Round. The Bombers still await their ultimate opponent with seeding still to be determined. Matches will be played at Cornell's Reis Tennis Center.