Bulldogs win 2-of-3 matches at Turning Stone

Smithfield, R.I. – Facing the challenge of three matches in two days, the Bryant University men's tennis team rose to the occasion, defeating two of the competitors, including reigning MAAC Champion Marist, as well as UConn.

"Facing three teams in two days was meant to be a true test of preseason conditioning," said head coach Ron Gendron. "These are the challenges that will hopefully pay dividends in April.  They also provide an opportunity for the guys to push themselves beyond normal conditioning."

In their first contest of the weekend, the Bulldogs took down Marist, 5-2, sweeping in doubles, before winning four in singles. The duo of Luke Lorenz (Colorado Spring, Colo.) and Max Vogt (Fair Oaks, Calif.) found themselves a 7-6 win, while Oliver Welsh (San Diego, Calif.) and Michael Plutt (Weston, Fla.) won, 7-5. The twosome of Josh Kliger (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Nick Lamart (Raleigh, N.C.) finished out the doubles domination, 6-3.

The Bulldogs found four wins in singles play led by Vogt's victory over Justin Chanthalangsy in two games, 6-4, 6-3, while Lorenz defeated Jan Dernic, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6.  Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, Texas) found his singles win over Timo Tanzer, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, while Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) was successful against Dylan Fletcher, 7-6, 4-6, 10-7.

In match two of day one, Bryant fell, 5-2, to Binghamton. The Bearcats won the doubles point with the Bryant pair of Kliger and Lamart finding the only Bulldog win, 7-6, (10-8), over the Binghamton duo of Thomas Caputo and Josh Druger. Only two Bulldogs were victorious in singles, including Jakubowski's 6-3, 7-5 win over Frenk Kote and Ortiz-Garcia's 7-5, 6-7, 1-0 stand over Inigo Saez.

Bryant found its second triumph of the weekend against UConn edging out the Huskies, 4-3. The Bulldogs were unable to clinch the doubles point, with Vogt and Lorenz finding the only doubles win, 6-2.

The Black and Gold made up the difference in singles, finding all four of their wins in the head-to-head matchups. Vogt led off for the Bulldogs, defeating Jacob Spreyer, 6-3, 6-4, while Welsh won in similar fashion, trumping Christopher Toner, 6-3, 6-4. Lorenz turned the tide against Parker Goldstein, beating him, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Jakubowski pushed his match with Justin Warren to three games before defeating him, 5-7, 6-2, (8-10).

"To come away with a win over the MAAC champs, compete well against a very strong Binghamton team and grind out a win against an inspired UConn team was a testament to our strength coaches, athletic trainer, mental toughness and the character of our young men."

The Bulldogs take a break from competition this coming weekend before heading to Raleigh, N.C., to take on South Carolina and North Carolina State, beginning on Sunday, February 7.