Match Results
BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—Sarah Lawrence College men's tennis kicked off its 2017 Skyline schedule with a 7-2 triumph over St. Joseph's College Long Island at SLC Tennis Courts on Wednesday.
IN SHORT
Sarah Lawrence (2-0, 1-0 Skyline) def. St. Joseph's (0-2, 0-1 Skyline), 7-2.
DOUBLES
The Green and White earned an edge in pairs play, securing a 2-1 lead after pairs play. In the No. 3 match, rookies
Mehran Hicks (Hartsdale, N.Y./The Masters School) and
Aidan Reckziegel (Montreal, Canada/Idyllwild Arts Acad. (Calif.)) had no trouble securing an 8-0 shutout win. The Golden Eagles responded by taking the No. 1 match, 8-3.
In the No. 2 match, sophomore
Garrett Hsuan (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bard H.S. Early College) teamed with junior
Andre Garibaldi (New Hope, Pa./New Hope-Solebury). The duo recovered from a 7-5 deficit to tie the match, 8-8, and force a tiebreaker. In the decisive points, the Golden Eagles took a 3-0 lead before Hsuan and Garibaldi tied the score at 4-4 and went on to win the match 9-8 (7-5).
SINGLES
Senior
Jasper Soloff (New York, N.Y./Trevor Day School) put his match in the book quickly, wasting no time in winning the No. 6 match. He blanked his opponent, 6-0, 6-0, for his second double-shutout win of the season.
Hicks also made quick work of his singles match, earning a win in No. 5 singles to improve to 4-0 on the season in singles and doubles combined. His 6-2, 6-1 lead improved the Gryphons' lead in the team score to 4-1.
The decisive point was scored by sophomore
Matias Sanchez (Córdoba, Argentina/Academia Arguello), playing in the No. 1 singles match. After taking the first set, 6-3, he jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Despite a rally by his Golden Eagle opponent, Sanchez closed out the second set, 6-4, clinching victory for Sarah Lawrence.
Reckziegel won his first set at No. 4 singles by a comfortable 6-3 margin. The first year Gryphon trailed 5-4 in the second set before recovering to tie the set, 6-6. In the tiebreaker, Reckziegel fell behind early, 6-1, but then scored seven straight points to win his match, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).
Hsuan earned the Gryphons' sixth and final point of the match, making short work of the No. 2 singles match, 8-3, in the pro-set format.
In the last match on the courts, sophomore
Ian Gonzalez (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) found himself deadlocked against St. Joseph's, 8-8, and fell in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-2).
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The win is a vital victory in the Gryphons' quest for a spot in the six-team Skyline tournament. In the league's preseason coaches' poll, SLC was slotted sixth and St. Joseph's seventh with a separation of a single point. With Wednesday's win, the Gryphons have the first of at least three wins that they will need to earn their first-ever berth.
UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence faces a pair of non-conference opponents this weekend. The Gryphons travel to face College of Staten Island on Saturday before returning home to host Bard College at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
