Colgate Men's Tennis Completes Strong Fall Campaign – The Colgate Maroon-News

Colgate University men's tennis concluded their fall season last weekend at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where two senior captains, Benito Vlassis and Josh Israel, competed in the ITA Patriot League Masters Qualifier tournament. It was the first time this tournament was held in the fall, with the winners receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I IndividualChampionships taking place from November 19 to 24 Waco, Texas. Vlassis and Israel represented the Raiders in both singles and doubles.

The two veterans competed against the best competition the Patriot League has to offer, with Israel advancing to the singles semifinals in dramatic fashion. It was the icing on the cake of what was already a very solid decline for the Robbers.

I thought this fall season was very productive for the team as the level of play of my teammates continued to rise with each invite. We ended the fall season with a strong back-to-back weekend between ITA regionals and the Patriot League masters tournament. We achieved some nice victories and showed good team spirit. “I know I'm excited to be working towards the spring season, and I know the team is hungry for some big things coming in the spring,” Vlassis said.

The season started on September 7 with the Bloomsburg Invitational in Pennsylvania. The Raiders dominated their way through the weekend, compiling a combined record of 27-12 through singles and doubles play. Sophomore Jerome Falcon put in a standout performance, remaining undefeated in both singles and doubles. Israel, Vlassis and freshman Tim Viding all posted multiple wins in singles, and in doubles, senior captains Ben Graham and Mikey Weitz defeated a tough St. Francis duo with a score from 6-4.

I thought our team had a pretty successful fall with all the guys on the team competing hard and getting reps. We've had a lot of momentum since the fall and I hope to keep that going into the spring. “I am proud of how I competed in the fall, losing only one singles match and one doubles match,” Falcon said.

Falcon and fellow sophomore teammate Parker McGowan were set to team up in doubles at the inaugural Colgate Invitational tournament held the weekend of September 14-15. The duo took on two teams from Hamilton College and defeated them both in an amazing display of skill camaraderie.

I think overall the team is moving in the right direction, finishing the fall season with great results at the ITAs at Harvard two weekends ago, and [Israel] And [Vlassis] during the individual Patriot League tournament at Army. The upper class people have really stepped up in the big moments, resulting in great victories. I think the depth and culture of the team will be the key to many wins in the spring. Individually I was very happy with it [Falcon] and Has competed in doubles and also has good results in singles, McGowan said.

The two sophomores look to continue their strong freshman campaigns and become the standard bearers of Raider tennis for years to come.

Other highlights of the tournament included juniors Aidan Chung and Aidan Lee defeating their opponents from Niagara and Siena respectively in straight matches. sets. The Raiders finished their first tournament with a combined file from 23-16.

The final all-team tournament for the Raiders took place Oct. 17-19, where the Raiders traveled to Harvard for the New England ITA Division I Men's Regional Championships. During the tournament, Colgate took on some of the toughest competition of their season, going up against the best players from both the Ivy and Patriot. Leagues. The doubles duo Vlassis-Israel reached the second round of the tournament, where they were eventually defeated 3-8 by Harvard.

Although the spring season is still months away from starting, the Raiders' performance this fall sets a strong tone, giving fans a lot to look forward to in late January.

I think the team looks really good at the moment. We sent almost the entire team back and everyone came back great. All the guys have been working really hard and we need to keep that same energy going through the offseason and into the spring season. I'm super excited to see what we can do in the spring, Chung said.

Men's tennis has reached its sweet spot, where the team has just the right mix of seasoned veterans and young talent to make some noise in the Patriot League. The depth of experience on the coaching side, with veteran head coach Bobby Pennington returning for his 18th season with the stiris another factor working in the Raiders' favor. Pennington is the third-winningest head coach in Colgate men's tennis history, and if things continue as they have been, he could find himself in the top two by the end of April.