Bulldogs edge UConn 5-2, win 9th straight
Bulldogs play past UConn to win ninth-straight match
STORRS, Conn. – Led by a pair of thrilling come-back victories in the #1 and #2 singles spots, the Bryant University men's tennis team edged the University of Connecticut, 5-2, on Tuesday afternoon in Storrs, Conn.
With the latest victory, the Bulldogs (11-4) push their program-high (Division I) winning streak to nine straight victories, as the Huskies (5-9) fell for the seventh straight outing.
After a tremendous display at the #3 doubles spot with the match deadlocked at one doubles point apiece, sophomores Dana Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C.) and Connor Crowley (London, Ont.) dug deep and gutted out an exhilarating 9-8 (7-4) win to clinch the doubles point for the Bulldogs. Senior Peter Hart Callahan (Malvern, Pa.) and rookie Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.) helped the visitors by cruising to an 8-2 win at #2 doubles to secure the first point.
Moving to singles, both sides exchanged wins at the #3 and #5 spots, as Dave Adams picked up a 6-2; 6-0 win for the Huskies at the third flight before freshman Juan Gonzalez-Paz (San Juan, Puerto Rico) put the visitors back ahead with a 6-3; 6-4 win at the fifth flight.
The home side evened the score at 2-2 with a victory by Wei Lin in the #4 singles match, but freshman Richard Sipala (Quogue, N.Y.) put the Huskies on the brink of defeat with a huge 6-4; 7-5 win at the #6 singles match.
That set the stage for Morris, who fell behind by a set against Scott Warden in the No. 1 singles match. But just as he has throughout the spring, Morris came up huge when the team needed him most, fighting back to win the last two sets and prevail by a 4-6; 6-1; 6-2 score to clinch the win for the Bulldogs.
Parziale rounded out the group with his eighth straight win at the #2 spot, edging Jacob Spreyer in a comeback win of his own, 3-6; 6-4; 7-5.
"Doubles got us off going with a huge win by Connor and Dana to clinch the point, and Hart [Callahan] and Zach also looked strong in their match," head coach Ron Gendron said afterward. "Zach had a huge comeback win against a great player, and that clinched it for us against a good team. I'm proud of the way we've performed, but now we'll turn our sights back to an important conference match against a very good FDU team."
The Bulldogs will travel to Teaneck, N.J. on Saturday to take on Northeast Conference foe Fairleigh Dickinson – the team that was picked to finish second in the league according to the Preseason Coaches Poll. Start time is set for 1 p.m.
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Bryant 5, UConn 2
Doubles
- Warden/Spreyer def. Arguello/Gonzalez-Paz 8-7
- Callahan/Morris def. Adams/Lin 8-2
- Crowley/Parziale def. Carr/Burns 9-8 (4)
OOF: 2, 1, 3
Singles
- Morris def. Warden 4-6; 6-1; 6-2
- Parziale def. Spreyer 3-6; 6-4; 7-5
- Adams def. Callahan 6-2; 6-0
- Lin def. Arguello 7-5; 6-0
- Gonzalez-Paz def. Carr 6-3; 6-4
- Sipala def. Palmer 6-4; 7-5
OOF: 3, 5, 4, 6, 1*, 2
*= clinching victory
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