West Point, N.Y. - Men's tennis kicked off their spring 2024 season with a successful weekend at the Army Invite where the squad racked up 16 wins across three days of singles and doubles action. Four different Raiders ended the weekend with a winning record in singles, while Colgate earned six wins on doubles courts behind Aidan Chung/John Fazli's undefeated record.

"What a difference a year makes," said Head Coach Bobby Pennington. "This time last year we sat at 0-3 and were defeated. Flash forward to a year later and we beat very solid teams in Marist and Fairfield and finished winning five of six against Army in singles." 

A slow start to the invite saw the Raiders fall against Lubbock Christian, where Josh Israel was the lone bright spot with his 6-3, 6-3 victory in first singles. Colgate was also swept in doubles play by Marist, but rebounded nicely on Saturday in singles action. 

In the first singles slot, Israel won 7-6, 6-1, and Benito Vlassis took home a win in singles two, 7-6, 6-1. Aidan Lee dominated his opponent 6-2, 6-0, on court three. 

Tejas Gupta and Mikey Weitz fell in their respective matches against Marist, but Ben Graham commanded the fifth singles court with a thrilling three-set victory that gave the Raiders a 4-3 win against the Red Foxes. 

Later on Saturday afternoon, Israel/Vlassis triumphed against Army in doubles before narrowly falling to Fairfield. Three other pairs of Raiders picked up the slack, however, with Jerome Falcon/Parker McGowan, Chung/Fazli, and Graham/Lee all claiming victories that propelled the Raiders to a win versus the Stags. 

On the final day of the invite, Colgate upset Army for the first time since 2010, taking down the Black Knights, 5-2. Israel/Vlassis finished their weekend at an even .500 as partners with a victory in doubles one, while Chung/Fazli remained undefeated as a duo with a 6-3 win. 

The Raiders nearly swept singles play with five triumphs, two of which went to three sets. 

Lee's 2-6, 7-6, 10-8 thriller and Falcon's 6-7, 6-2, 10-6 nail-biter coupled with wins from Chung, Weitz, and Graham ended the three-day invite on a high note for Pennington's Raiders.
 
"This is a veteran ballclub who has had a tough couple years and is hungry to put their hard hats on, go to work, and play blue collar tennis." Pennington said. "We played like absolute warriors this weekend competing for every point and with zero fear."

"We played a ton of tennis this past weekend and feel primed to continue our unbeaten season against LIU."

UP NEXT 
Colgate heads to Brookville, N.Y. next weekend for a duel against Long Island University at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27. 
 
Friday 
Vs. Lubbock Christian in Singles - 
Israel, W 6-3, 6-3
Vlassis, L 2-6, 2-6
Lee, L 4-6, 3-6
Weitz, L 6-7, 5-7
Graham, L 1-6, 2-6
Gupta, L 2-6, 4-6
Falcon, L 6-0, 7-0 

Vs. Marist in Doubles - 
Israel/Vlassis, L 5-7
Lee/Graham, L 2-6
Weitz/Gupta, L 4-6

Saturday 
Vs. Marist in Singles -
Israel, W 7-6, 6-1
Vlassis, W 7-6, 6-1
Lee, W 6-2, 6-0
Weitz, L 4-6, 2-6
Graham, W 4-6, 7-0, 10-5
Gupta, L 3-6, 6-2, 7-10

Vs. Army in Doubles - 
Israel/Vlassis, W 6-3
Graham/Lee, L 2-6
Gupta/Weitz, L 3-6

Vs. Fairfield in Doubles - 
Israel/Vlassis, L 5-7
Graham/Lee, W 6-4
Falcon/Mcgowan, W 6-4
Chung/Fazli, W 6-1

Sunday 
Vs. Army in Doubles - 
Israel/Vlassis, W 6-3
Graham/Lee, L 2-6
Gupta/Weitz, L 3-6
Chung/Fazli, W, 6-3

Vs. Army in Singles - 
Israel, L 0-6, 4-6
Lee, W 2-6, 7-6, 10-8
Graham, W 7-5, 6-4
Weitz, W 6-3, 7-5
Falcon, W 6-7, 6-2, 10-6
Chung, W 6-2, 7-6