Parziale, Gonzalez pace men's tennis team
STORRS, Conn. – Despite the inclement weather in the area over the weekend, the Bryant University men's tennis team put together another impressive outing at the UConn Invitational in Storrs, Conn., dominating the doubles rounds and finishing off with a strong singles showing.
All teams at the tournament were forced to maneuver around Mother Nature's plans, as the event – which was scheduled to take place outdoors over a three-day span – was moved indoors and was only played on Friday and Sunday. Players were allotted two matches in both doubles and singles rounds, with the doubles falling on the afternoon and evening of Friday, Sept. 23, and the singles action falling on Sunday, Sept. 25.
The Bulldogs kicked off with a nearly flawless showing during the doubles rounds, as the team went 9-1 over 10 matches. Sophomore Dana Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C.) teamed up with rookie Richard Sipala (Quogue, N.Y.) to take a pair of 8-2 victories over host Connecticut's Teddy Margules and Peter Surovic before downing Sacred Heart's John Bogdanovich and John Lopresti. Meanwhile, senior Daniel Cournoyer (Jefferson, Mass.) paired with freshman Joshua Rubinstein (Trumbull, Conn.), and took down Boston University's Alex Hallenbeck and Alex Green, 8-3, before rounding out the night with an 8-2 win over a Sacred Heart/UConn mixed team.
Other doubles results included an impressive three-win night for Peter Hart Callahan (Malvern, Pa.) and freshman partner Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.). The two cruised over BU's Bill Kring and Regis Chang, 8-3, before battling to an exciting 8-6 victory over conference foe Quinnipiac's Andrew Weeden and Eric Ambrosio. The duo wrapped up the night with a victory over BU's Jesse Frieder and Emilio Teran, winning that match by a score of 8-3.
"A week of hard work paid off," seventh-year head coach Ron Gendron said. "It goes to show we need to continue to work just as hard in the weeks to come."
That hard work carried over into Sunday, where the team went 9-6 overall, including standout performances by Parziale and freshmen Juan Gonzalez-Paz and Rubinstein. All three went undefeated over two matches, with Gonzalez picking up impressive wins over Sacred Heart's Luka Biagi in a battle of conference foes, 6-4, 6-1, as well as Hartford's Michael Kennlly, 6-2, 6-3. Parziale cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Hartford's Aneil Bhalla before downing Quinnipiac's James Kwei, 6-2, 6-3.
The Bulldogs will resume action next weekend when they participate in the NEC Invitational on Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
For continuing coverage of Bryant men's tennis, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.