By Alexandra Sedlak

The men’s tennis team spent their weekend at West Point.  They had one match on Saturday and one on Sunday, both of which were played at the Lichtenberg Tennis Center.  They faced the home team, Army, on Saturday morning, and conference foe Saint Bonaventure on Sunday morning.  It was a long weekend for the tennis team, but they still return to practice for future matches.

The Rams’ match against Army had an interesting ending, as three of the singles matches defaulted.  The final score was 2-5, but if the defaults did not count toward the score, the final score would be 0-4.  In doubles play, the point went to Army.  Freshman Fabian Mauritzson and junior Joseph Kavaloski dropped the second doubles match 3-6, while freshmen Jeremy Chung and Steven Duka lost their third doubles match 1-6.  The first doubles match, played by senior Tomas Cosmai and freshman Allen Thornes, was halted at a score of 4-5.

In singles play, Fordham’s point score was 2-4.  Cosmai lost the first singles position with a score of 5-7, 1-6.  In second singles, Mauritzson’s match was in the second set when he defaulted, giving the point to Army.  Chung played the third singles spot, losing with a score of 2-6, 1-6.  Both Thornes and Kavaloski, who played fourth and fifth singles respectively, won their matches in the second set when the players from Army defaulted. Finally, in sixth singles, Duka fell with a score of 2-6, 3-6.  The final score was 2-5.

Fordham ended up 1-6 against Saint Bonaventure. There were some very close matches, especially in the singles matches, where there were three three-setters.  However, the Rams could not seem to grab the win.  Cosmai and Thornes lost the first doubles match with a score of 0-6, while sophomore Victor Li and freshman Jeremy Chung won their second doubles match 6-1.  The third doubles match was the deciding match for the victor of the doubles point.  It was an extremely close match, with only a couple points separating the winning team from the losing team, but ultimately Fordham’s Nick Borak and Joseph Kavaloski fell with a score of 6(6)-7.  The doubles point then went to Saint Bonaventure.

In singles play, Cosmai lost the first singles spot 0-6, 0-6.  In second singles, which was one of the three set matches, Li put up a good fight, but fell to his opponent with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6 (5)-7. Mauritzson claimed the sole point for Fordham in the third singles position, winning his match 6-2, 6-1.  Borak, in fourth singles, also played a three-set match.  He put all his effort into it, but lost in the end with a score of 6-4, 6 (3)-7, 4-6.  Chung lost the fifth singles spot 1-6, 4-6.  Finally, in the sixth singles position, Thornes played the final three set match.  It was a tough, intense match between the two players, but Thornes fell to his opponent 3-6, 7-5, 6 (4)-7. The final score overall was 1-6.

Though Fordham was not as successful as they had hoped to be this weekend, most of the matches were fought straight through to the end.  The Rams never gave up and they worked hard for every point.  Coming back to practice this week, the team will focus on strengthening their skills and strategies as they prepare to host many schools in the next few weeks.

The tennis team competes again next weekend at their indoor home courts in Harrison.  They will be playing Lafayette College on Sunday evening.  Wish them luck as we head into spring break!