After falling short to Princeton University on Feb. 7, UB men’s tennis (3-4, 0-0 MAC) dominated St. Bonaventure University (0-7, 0-0 A10) with a strong 6-1 victory at Miller Tennis Center.
The match kicked off at 1 p.m. with doubles matches, where St. Bonaventure ultimately took the 1-0 lead. The Bulls attempted to establish a good starting position, but the Bonnies triumphed by winning first and second doubles. UB’s senior duo, Yu-Shian Huang and Clement Mainguy made a strong effort and dominated the final double, winning 6-1.
There were many promising moments for the Bulls during the doubles matches where the Bonnies would hit the ball out of bounds or not manage to get their serve over the net. The Bonnies ultimately prevailed and got their team off to a good start.
The Bulls quickly took over the court during the singles matches by winning every match against the Bonnies. In the face of defeat, senior Cheng Tang set the tone by winning 6-4 and 6-2 in first singles. Senior Daniils Snaiders was able to weather the storm and come out on top winning 6-4 and 7-5 in second singles.
UB swept the court during the last four singles matches. Key moments include Mainguy continuing his personal win streak for the match, winning 6-1 and 6-3 in third singles, and sophomore Michael Malkin winning the fourth singles by walking right over the Bonnies with both scores being 6-1. To secure the victory, junior Faiz Nasyam and Huang ended strongly at fifth and sixth singles respectively winning 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1.
Bulls pride was shown by both the players and the home crowd during times of defeat and during their swift comeback in the singles matches.
The Bulls’ next match is against Mercyhurst (0-1, 0-0 NEC) on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. The game will take place at the Miller Tennis Center.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
