SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Colgate men's tennis team lost its first Patriot League match of the season as the Raiders fell to the Mountain Hawks in an incredibly close match 4-3.
The match started on a high note for Colgate as the team won two matches to take the doubles point. Senior
Francis Scott Bickel and sophomore
Jack Selati won their match 7-6 and the duo of senior
Jack Ablon and junior
Nate Romig secured the 6-4 victory to give Colgate the 1-0 lead.
Bickel took the win at No. 1 singles as he won 6-2 and 6-1. Junior
Rohan Gupta secured another win for the Raiders as he won at No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-2.
With the Raiders up 3-2, Selati and Romig both lost their singles matches in extremely close third sets. At No. 2, Selati won his first set 6-1 and fell by a close score of 7-6 in the second set. He then went on to lose his third set 6-3. Romig also had a tough battle at No. 5 singles. After losing the first set 7-6, he fought back to win the second set 6-4, but fell in the third set 6-2.
The loss marks the first Patriot League loss of the season for the Raiders as they now hold a 2-1 conference record and an overall record of 2-3.
THE RUNDOWN
Singles
Francis Scott Bickel (Colgate) def. Zack Elliot (Lehigh) 6-2, 6-1
Harry Wang (Lehigh) def.
Jack Selati (Colgate) 1-6, 7-6, 6-3
Rohan Gupta (Colgate) def. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) 6-2, 6-2
Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) def.
Jack Ablon (Colgate) 6-2, 6-2
Jacob Edelchik (Lehigh) def.
Nate Romig (Colgate) 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
Jordan Paul (Lehigh) def.
Nick Potter (Colgate) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
Elliot/Wang (Lehigh) def. Potter/Gupta (Colgate) 6-3
Bickel/Selati (Colgate) def. Fishkin/Edelchik (Lehigh) 7-6
Ablon/Romig (Colgate) def. Learner/Nazaroff (Lehigh) 6-4
FROM THE SOURCE
On the men's close match, head coach Bobby Pennington said, "Out of my 15 years coaching against Lehigh, that may have been the best tennis and closest, most exciting match yet. Credit to both teams for battling for every point for four hours.
"We won a marathon doubles point in dramatic fashion and game balls to Gupta and Bickel for singles straight set victories. We were up 3-2 and Selati and Romig lost in third set heartbreakers. I was extremely touched by all the outpouring of support for Children's Heart Awareness. It was an amazing match for an amazing cause and many more to come."
UP NEXT
The Raiders will host a conference match against Bucknell on April 3 at the J.W. Abrahamson Tennis Courts with a time yet to be determined.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's and women's tennis programs, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMWTennis and on Instagram at colgatemwtennis.
