BETHLEHEM, Pa. (9/23/06) – The Colgate University men’s tennis team won the ECAC Men’s South Open Tennis Championship with a team score of 20 points, edging last year’s champion Lehigh but three points.

 

The Raiders were declared champions in three of the four singles flights and in the doubles flight, as were runners-up in the other singles flight.

 

The championship took place at the Lewis Tennis Center on the campus of Lehigh with five teams competing in the event.  Loyola came in third with 8.5 points, Moravian in fourth with 5.5 points and Cabrini in fifth with 5 points.

 

Senior Chris Innes (Southport, Conn.) defeated Cabrini’s Matt Ingram with matching 6-0 sets in the first round of the first flight.  After losing the first set, 7-5, Innes came back to take Lehigh’s Alfredo Fernandez-Concha in championship match, winning the next two sets, 6-4.

 

Senior Marshall Wheeler (Darien, Conn.) defeated Moravian’s Keith Feinman, 6-1, 6-0 in the opening round of the 3rd singles, 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the championship match.  Wheeler tasted victory as he edged Lehigh’s Andrew Balshi 7-5, 6-1.

 

Freshman John Nogueras (Parkland, Fla.) topped Loyola’s Chris Langley in matching 6-1 sets in the first round and did the same to Brent Herbert of Lehigh in the championship match.

 

In doubles, freshman Michael Yassky (New York, N.Y.) and junior Tyler Deck (Newport Beach, Calif.) catapulted to the championship match after defeating Loyola’s Chad Morrow and Donnie Marinari, 6-2, 6-1.  Facing Lehigh’s Evan Volkman and Jon-Michael Caminit, Colgate came out of top, 6-2, 6-2.

 

Sophomore Martin MacIntyre (Arlington, Va.) took second place in the 2nd singles after falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to Lehigh’s Ryan Lloyd.

 

The win was the first tournament win for Colgate under first-year head coach Bobby Pennington.

 

The Raiders will take some time off before the ITA Regionals at the University of Pennsylvania from Oct. 20-26.