Match Results | Archived Video (lower courts, available 4/14)
BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—A two-hour, triple-tiebreaker win by Gryphon
Arnie Welles (Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick School) was instrumental in helping Sarah Lawrence College men's tennis earn a 5-4 win over College of Staten Island in a non-conference match at Andrews Courts on Wednesday. The win was the Gryphons' second in a row, while the match was the first-ever between the two squads.
IN SHORT
Sarah Lawrence (2-4) def. Staten Island (3-5), 5-4.
DOUBLES
Sarah Lawrence fell behind early in the match after the Dolphins took a 2-1 lead after doubles play. In the No. 2 match, rookie
Garrett Hsuan (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bard H.S. Early College) and senior
Juan Sucre (Caracas, Venezuela/ASFM (Monterrey, Mexico)) made quick work of their Dolphin opponents, needing just 37 minutes to put away an 8-4 victory.
At No. 3 doubles, rookie
Alex Wah (New York, N.Y./Riverdale Country / Bay Sch. of S.F.) and junior
Ben Dougherty (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Beacon School) fell behind 3-0 but rallied to take a 4-3 advantage. From there, CSI went on a 5-1 rally to take the match, 8-5.
In the final doubles match, SLC's top pair consisted of rookies
Matias Sanchez (Córdoba, Argentina/Academia Arguello) and
Ian Gonzalez (Framingham, Mass./Framingham). The duo rebounded from a 4-1 deficit to take a 5-4 edge. The two opposing pairs exchanged games to an 8-8 deadlock, forcing the day's first tiebreaker. There were five ties and four lead changes en route to a 6-6 stalemate before the Dolphins scored back-to-back points for a 9-8(8-6) victory.
SINGLES
At No. 5 singles, senior
James Berry (New York, N.Y./Kent) was the first player to secure victory, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 win. The Gryphon tied the team score, 2-2, and extended his win streak; he has not lost since April 2.
SLC regained control of the team score when sophomore
Andre Garibaldi (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury) closed out a win at No. 4 singles, 6-2, 6-3. He has now won back-to-back singles matches and has a three-match win streak including doubles.
With the Gryphons in front, 3-2, Welles was hard at work on the main court. Each of the No. 6 singles players had a break point in the first set, leading to a 6-6 tie and their first tiebreaker. At the first court change, Welles held a 4-2 lead, but CSI's Tony Francis won five of the next six points to win the set, 7-6(7-5). In set two, Francis had a 6-5 lead but Welles fought off a match point in the 12th game. In another tiebreaker, Welles won back-to-back points to earn a 7-6(8-6) set.
Welles and Francis played a super-tiebreaker third set in a race to 10 points. Francis took early control, winning the first five points. Welles chipped away at the deficit and trailed 7-5 at the second court change. Francis followed by winning the next two points, earning a 9-5 lead and four match points. Welles stepped up under pressure and dominated six straight points to turn the tide and win the match, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), (11-9). The victory doubled the Gryphons' lead to 4-2, putting them one match from the team victory.
Not to be dismissed easily, the Dolphins fought back in the final wave of matches. Staten Island evened the team score at 4-4 after winning the No. 1 and No. 2 matches by an identical score of 6-4, 6-3.
With the match on the line and temperatures dropping rapidly, the coaches agreed that the decisive No. 3 singles match would be played under a 10-game pro-set format. SLC's Gonzalez took the court with the team's fate on his shoulders. Under pressure, the first year Gryphon won six games in row to turn a 6-1 lead into a 10-3 match for his first collegiate singles win.
UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence hosts Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday in what will be a pivotal match for both teams. Saturday's winner will control its own fate to clinch the fourth and final berth in May's Skyline Championship tournament. Action in Bronxville begins at 1 p.m.
