Tennis takes down Villanova, 5-2
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Bolstered by five victories in singles play, the Bryant University men's tennis team romped Villanova, 5-2, in a bounce-back victory on Friday evening at the East Hartford Tennis Club.
After going 0-2 last weekend against two of the top teams in region, the Bulldogs (3-4) were not discouraged after losing the doubles point by a 2-1 margin to the Wildcats (0-2). The Black and Gold regrouped and gutted out several close matches to eventually win 5-of-6 of the singles bouts.
All but one match in singles play went to a third set, but the Bulldogs benefited from their conditioning and toughness to secure wins in all but one of those three-set matches.
Senior Peter Hart Callahan (Malvern, Pa.) started singles with an easy 6-3; 6-4 win to tie the match at 1-1. Bryant would then push the Wildcats to the brink of defeat with back-to-back wins in the No. 1 spot and No. 4 spot, as freshman Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.) and Juan Gonzalez-Paz (San Juan, Puerto Rico) earned three-set victories to push the Bulldogs ahead, 3-1.
Villanova would answer with its final win of the day at the No. 5 spot, but Bryant shut the door with wins from rookie Richard Sipala (Quogue, N.Y.) and a marathon 6-0, 6-7, 6-4 victory by sophomore Dana Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C.) at the No. 3 spot to finish up the match.
"That's a nice win for us against a good team," head coach Ron Gendron said. "I thought we played tough last weekend against quality competition, but now it's time to get back on track, and I thought we did that today."
The Bulldogs return to action next weekend when they take on Connecticut in an exhibition dual match on Friday (Feb. 17) before traveling to Boston University two days later on Sunday morning.
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Bryant 5, Villanova 2
Doubles
- Thomas O'Brien/Kelly Donaldson def. Morris/Callahan (8-6)
- Matt Colonnese/Tim Abbracciamento def. Arguello/Gonzalez (8-6)
- 3. Huot/Parziale def. Ryan Peyton/Michael Rosengren (9-8 [7-5])
Singles
- Morris def. O'Brien (6-4; 4-6; 6-2)
- 2. Callahan def. Matt Colonnese (6-3; 6-4)
- 3. Parziale def. Peyton (6-0; 6-7; 6-4)
- 4. Gonzalez-Paz def. Rosengren (4-6; 6-3; 6-3)
- 5. Abbracciamento def. Arguello (4-6; 7-5; 6-1)
- 6. Sipala def. Mark Miller (6-2; 2-6; 6-3)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, 3
For continuing coverage of Bryant University men's tennis, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com; also follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.