Bulls edge Bulldogs, 5-2, on Sunday
PROVIDENCE – Just over 12 hours after an impressive performance against Colgate on Saturday night, the Bryant University men's tennis team fought valiantly but ultimately fell, 5-2, on Sunday (Jan. 29) morning against the University at Buffalo in a neutral-site battle at Brown University's tennis courts.
Only two players emerged victorious for the Bulldogs (2-2), although the home side was edged in a pair of doubles matches and saw one of its singles bouts go to three sets, but the Bulls (1-2) clamped down after taking the doubles point and won four-of-five in singles play.
Bryant freshmen Juan Gonzalez-Paz (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Richard Sipala (Quogue, N.Y.) emerged victorious for the Black and Gold, as both capped off undefeated weekends in singles play. Gonzalez-Paz picked up a 6-0; 6-4 win over Travis Zappia in the No. 5 spot before Sipala downed Alex Kalinin, 7-5; 6-1, in the No. 6 singles position.
The Bulls opened the match with a sweep of doubles play, but the Bulldogs nearly escaped with the point after dropping a pair of close matches. Buffalo took a 1-0 lead in doubles after a quick 8-1 victory at the No. 3 position. Ernesto Arguello (Managua, Nicaragua) and Gonzalez-Paz nearly came out on top in the No. 1 spot before bowing out to Wojciech Starakiewicz and Vusa Hove, 8-6, while Peter Hart Callahan (Malvern, Pa.) and Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.) were edged by George Tibil and Zappia by an identical 8-6 score.
Moving to singles play, the Bulldogs were within striking distance after wins in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, but Buffalo pulled ahead for good by winning the remaining four singles matches. Dana Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C.) rallied from down a set in his match at the No. 4 spot with George Tibil, but the standout sophomore could not complete the upset and eventually fell in three sets, 6-2; 4-6; 6-2.
Morris also was on the verge of going ahead by a set in his upset bid against Wojciech Starakiewicz in the No. 2 spot, but the first-year Bulldog eventually fell, 7-5; 6-2.
Head coach Ron Gendron was pleased with his team's performance given both the short turnaround from the night before and the fact that the Bulldogs were going up against a quality opponent.
"I was really pleased with the way we played today," Gendron said. "Buffalo is a team that used to beat us, 7-0, 6-1, in the past, and we gave them a fight today."
Bryant will look to get above .500 on the season with another long weekend as the calendar turns to February. The Bulldogs will travel to Brown to take on the host Bears and battle NEC foe Quinnipiac (doubles only) next Saturday (Feb. 4), with action slated to begin at 1:30 and 8 p.m., respectively.
Bryant rounds out the weekend with a Sunday morning dual match against Binghamton at neutral-site Brown's Varsity Tennis Courts at 10 a.m.
Buffalo 5, Bryant 2
Doubles
1. Wojciech Starakiewicz/Vusa Hove (BUF) d. Juan Gonzalez-Paz/Ernesto Arguello (BRY), 8-6
2. George Tibil/Travis Zappia (BUF) d. Peter Hart Callahan/Zachary Morris (BRY), 8-6
3. Alex Kalinin/Damien David (BUF) d. Dana Parziale/Richard Sipala (BRY), 8-1
Singles
1. Damien David (BUF) d. Peter Hart Callahan (BU), 6-1, 6-1
2. Wojciech Starakiewicz (BUF) d. Zachary Morris (BU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Vusa Hove (BUF) d. Ernesto Arguello (BU), 6-3, 6-3
4. George Tibil (BUF) d. Dana Parziale (BU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
5. Juan Gonzalez-Paz (BRY) d. Travis Zappia (UB), 6-0, 6-4
6. Richard Sipala (BRY) d. Alex Kalinin (UB), 7-5, 6-1
