WEST POINT, N.Y. –The Monmouth University men's tennis team rallied to tie the match at 3-3 after Army jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Hawks ultimately fell 4-3 to the Black Knights in non-conference action, Saturday afternoon at Lichtenburg Tennis Center. The loss drops the Hawks to 0-3 on the year, while the Black Knights earned the win in their first dual match of the season.
"This was another match that was decided by two or three points,” said head coach Cory Hubbard. “I thought our team was very flat and did not compete well in doubles and we got down 3-0. The remaining guys showed a lot of heart and really grabbed the momentum and got it tied up 3-3. Daniil [Ginzburg] did a great job fighting in his match and he lost two of the sudden death no-ad deuce points, which was the difference in the match.”
Despite Victor Pugliese (Boulogne, France/CNED [San Diego]) and Przemyslaw Filipek's (Bedzin, Poland /Second Lo [Silesia]) 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles over Rommel Verano and Sam Lampman, Army won at No. 2 and No. 3 to steal the point.
In singles play, the Black Knights took matches at No. 3 and No. 4 before the Blue and White got on the board. At No. 5 singles, freshman Christian Vieira (Houston, Texas/Memorial) cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Peter Sienko. Filipek followed suit with a 6-4, 6-5 (7-4) over Harrison McCormick at No. 2 to bring the Hawks within one. Pugliese, who is ranked 19th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Singles rankings, edged his No. 1 counterpart Sam Lampman 6-5 (8-6), 6-1 to set up Danill Ginzburg's (Moscow, Russia/Moscow PS #1384) deciding match. Ginzburg, making his dual match debut for the Blue and White, fell in the opening set, 6-5 (7-4) before earning a 6-5 (7-5) win of his own, but Austin McCasin posted a 6-3 in the final set to seal the victory Army.
Hubbard added, “We had four freshmen in the lineup so getting this experience in pressure situations this early in the season will only help us down the road. Our schedule continues to be tough to start the season as we play Boston College and nationally-ranked Princeton next weekend. Our main focus is just keep working hard and improving to be ready for MAAC play."
Tennis Match Results
Monmouth vs Army
Feb 02, 2014 at West Point, N.Y.
Army 4, Monmouth 3
Singles competition
1. Pugliese, Victor (MU) def. Lampman, Sam (ARMY) 6-5, 6-1
2. Filipek, Przemyslaw (MU) def. McCormick, Harrison (ARMY) 6-4, 6-5
3. Riechmann, Grant (ARMY) def. Marcinkowski, Freddy (MU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Van Velzer, Alex (ARMY) def. Adamus, Luke (MU) 6-3, 6-5
5. Vieira, Christian (MU) def. Sienko, Peter (ARMY) 6-2, 6-2
6. McCasin, Austin (ARMY) def. Ginzburg, Daniil (MU) 6-5, 5-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Pugliese, Victor/Filipek, Przemyslaw (MU) def. Verano, Rommel/Lampman, Sam (ARMY) 6-2
2. McCasin, Austin/Barnes, Kyle (ARMY) def. Marcinkowski, Freddy/Vieira, Christian (MU) 6-2
3. Jang-Milsten, Henry/Sienko, Peter (ARMY) def. Bekhiet, Ramy/Adamus, Luke (MU) 6-3
