Over the weekend, the men's tennis team kicked off Mid-American Conference play on the road with a pair of meets. The results weren't exactly what it was looking for.
The Bulls (5-6, 0-2 MAC) got pulverized by Western Michigan (10-8, 1-0 MAC) on Friday, 7-0. Buffalo set out on Sunday to try and salvage the road trip with a victory but was bested 5-2 by Toledo (18-8, 1-0 MAC).
Against the Broncos, junior Wojciech Starakiewicz competed in the most intriguing match of the day in a showdown with WMU's best player.
Starakiewicz, the only player in UB's Division I history to achieve national and regional rankings, took on Michael Calderone, who has the fourth-most wins in Western Michigan tennis history.
Starakiewicz, like the rest of his team, got off to a slow start and dropped the first set, 6-4. However, unlike the other Bulls, Starakiewicz came roaring back.
The junior shut out Calderone in the second set, 6-0, and looked poised to secure a victory for Buffalo. Both athletes brought their best efforts in the third set. The grueling, thrilling final set went to Calderone, 10-8.
It was a tough day for freshman Travis Zappia against Toledo. He not only lost in the doubles tiebreaker match with senior Marcelo Mazzetto, 9-8 (6), but he came up short in the singles tiebreaker as well, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Solid performances by junior Alex Kalinin and freshman Jason Simon in the singles matches gave the Bulls their two points against the Rockets. Kalinin defeated Mircea Dimofte in three sets: 6-4, 5-7, and 7-5, whereas Simon disposed of Gursher Harika: 6-1, 6-3.
The Bulls will have home-court advantage on April 3, when they face off against the Marist Red Foxes. First serve is at 10 a.m. at the Miller Tennis Center.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
