April 4, 2009
BRYANT MEN'S TENNIS FALLS TO NJIT 4-3 SATURDAY
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| Sophomore Cristian Balestrieri had an excellent day Saturday, earning a straight-set win at No. 1 singles against NJIT. (Bryant SID photo) |
SMITHFIELD, RI - The Bryant University men's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to visiting NJIT Saturday afternoon at the Bryant Tennis Complex.
On a cold and blustery day, the Bulldogs battled back after dropping the doubles point to earn three wins in singles play only to come up short in the end.
Senior Jose Rodriguez (Trujillo, Peru) teamed with Zehn Laliwala (Bagalore, India) to earn a win at No. 3 doubles but Rodriguez would come up short at No. 2 singles in a hard-fought battle, falling 7-5, 7-6.
Junior Kevin Gardiner (Powder Springs, GA) was upset in the first set by Dan Solomon at No. 4 singles, but came back strong to win the second set 6-3 and carried the momentum into the tiebreaker where he would come out on top, 11-9 to win the match.
At No. 6 singles, Nicholai Hill (Ottawa, Ont.) battled to a 7-6 win in the first set over Anthony Tunnero before cruising 6-1 in the second.
Bryant's Cristian Balestrieri (Mar Del Plata, Argentina) played an exceptional match at No. 1 singles. Using his speed and strength, the sophomore pulled away to overpower NJIT's Steve Erickson in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The Bulldogs travel to Boston College Sunday.
Men's Tennis @ Smithfield, RI
NJIT 4, Bryant University 3
Singles
1. Cristian Balestrieri (BRYANT) def. Steve Erickson
(NJITM) 6-4, 6-4
2. Carl Lundquist (NJITM) def. Jose Rodriguez (BRYANT) 7-5, 7-6
3. Cosmin Chiujdea (NJITM) def. Dylan Whiting (BRYANT) 6-2, 7-6
4. Kevin Gardiner (BRYANT) def. Dan Salomon (NJITM) 6-7, 6-3,
11-9
5. Dimitri Athans (NJITM) def. Tom Nowak (BRYANT) 6-1, 6-4
6. Nicholai Hill (BRYANT) def. Anthony Tunnero (NJITM) 7-6, 6-1
Doubles
1. Lundquist/ Chiujdea (NJITM) def. Whiting/ Hill (BRYANT)
8-2
2. Erickson/ Tunnero (NJITM) def. Nowak/ Gardiner (BRYANT) 8-5
3. Rodriguez/Zehn Laliwala (BRYANT) def. Salomon/Bryan Keelan
(NJITM) 8-7
Records: Bryant 7-7, NJIT 9-5
