Doubles teams strong at ITA Regionals

The men's tennis team took to the courts this weekend to claim regional supremacy.

The USTA/ITA Northeast Regional Championships ran from last Thursday to Monday and showcased top talent from schools such as Princeton, Harvard, Boston College and Dartmouth.

With such prestigious names on the schedule, many opponents would be intimidated. The Bulls, however, were confident.

"We came in having really high expectations," said head coach Lee Nickell. "Everyone was fired up to go play in that tournament. We expected to make some deep runs in singles and to get far in doubles as well."

The most successful team of the week was the tandem of seniors Marcelo Mazzetto and Mitch Zenaty. The two made it to the fourth round, downing Holy Cross (8-2), Monmouth (8-5) and No. 7 seed Yale (9-8) along the way.

"Obviously they really stepped up this weekend," Nickell said. "It was the best doubles I've seen out of this team in the two years that I've been here. For them to beat a team that's top five in the region was very good."

The duo's run ended when they faced off against Harvard's second-seeded tandem of Alistair Felton and Andy Nguyen. The Harvard duo emerged victorious in the fourth round by a score of 8-1.

Junior Wojciech Starakiewicz and sophomore George Tibil also had success in New Haven. The twosome defeated Princeton 8-3. Much like their teammates, the pair was eliminated by Harvard's Felton and Nguyen in the second round, 8-4.

. The Bulls were less successful in singles play.

Marcelo Mazzetto scored a first round win over Jonathan Schroeder of Boston College, (7-5, 6-3).

Sophomore Vusa Hove bounced back to win two matches in the consolation bracket after being beaten for the first time this season in singles play.

The most shocking loss for the Bulls came when Princeton's Dan Richardson upset Starakiewicz in the second round in a three-set match (7-5, 3-6, 6-4).

Starakiewicz had earned a fourth seed and a first round bye. The time off may have been more of a detriment than a blessing.

"He just ran into a guy that was playing very good tennis," Nickell said. "He wasn't quite as ready to play after having the bye. It was just a slow start and it ended up coming down to a few points in the third set".

The Bulls will close out the fall season at the Cornell Invitational on Oct. 29.