Men's Tennis goes 24-7 at NEC Invitational
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Paced by an undefeated weekend from reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year Dana Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C.), the Bryant University men's tennis team participated in the NEC Invitational on Oct. 1-2, taking on conference foes Monmouth, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart in West Long Branch, N.J.
The sophomore posted a 3-0 record in singles over the weekend to go along with an identical mark on the doubles front, teaming up with freshman Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.) to continue their early season success as doubles partners. Overall, the entire team went an impressive 24-7 over the weekend, which stood as the best mark for any team's combined results at the tournament.
Making the team's feat more impressive was the fact that all participants were on the courts for an extensive amount of time, as Bryant first saw action on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and played late through the afternoon before repeating that process again on Sunday.
Seventh-year head coach Ron Gendron continued to attribute the team's success to their conditioning and will to work.
"I think our conditioning really paid off for us this weekend," Gendron said of the team's performance in the tournament. "It was a grueling two days, and we fought through it and performed well."
Parziale, who has not lost a match in either of the previous two weekends, started his tournament with Morris in doubles play against Quinnipiac's Eric Ambrosio and Andrew Weeden, where they picked up an 8-4 victory on Saturday morning. Later that afternoon, the duo faced off against Sacred Heart pair Luke Bagi and Derrick Crossman, earning an 8-2 win in that match. Finally, Parziale cruised to a 6-1; 6-3 decision over Chad Sullo of Sacred Heart to wrap up the action on Saturday.
After the overnight break, Parziale and Morris returned to the court on Sunday morning, battling host Monmouth's Carl Jedlinski and Freddy Marcinkowski to an 8-4 victory. Turning to singles play, Parziale finished up the tournament with victories against Marcinkowski (7-6 (7); 6-4) and Quinnipiac's James Kwei (6-1; 6-3).
Matching Parziale's performance in singles was another solid weekend by freshman Juan Gonzalez-Paz (San Juan, Puerto Rico), who also went 3-0 over the weekend. The rookie continued his already stellar play through the first month of his collegiate career, as he improved to 7-1 in singles through the fall season. The Puerto Rico native saw wins against Sacred Heart's John Lopresti (6-1; 6-4) and Monmouth's Jedlinski (2-6; 6-2; 10-8) before picking up a default win late on Sunday.
On the whole, the Bulldog went 16-5 in singles play, while posting an 8-2 mark in doubles.
The Black and Gold will return to the courts next weekend in Hamden, Conn., when they partake in the Quinnipiac Invitational on Oct. 7-9.
For continuing coverage of Bryant University men's tennis, check back at ww.bryantbulldogs.com, and be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.