It has been nearly four months since the men’s tennis team last stepped foot on the court for a match. It would be fair to assume that they would be a bit rusty in the first match of the spring season against Saint Peter’s. However, those assumptions were put to rest immediately, as the Rams got off to a strong start and surged to a 7-0 sweep of the Peacocks in Jersey City.
Fordham’s only loss of the day came in the first position of the doubles match, when Jonathan Paredes and Gabriel Russutto of Saint Peter’s topped the tandem of senior Pedro Alonso and sophmore Joseph Kavaloski 6-2. However, they would not lose another match. The Rams would secure the doubles point with a pair of victories in the second and third positions. The team of freshman Victor Li and senior Nick Borak picked up the Rams’ first victory of the spring season with a 6-1 triumph over Andres-Sebastian Roj and Jorge Rodriguez. Junior Tomas Comai and sophomore Cameron Posillico clinched the doubles’ point in a close 7-5 victory against the St. Peter’s twosome of Daniil Ivanov and Douglas Nover.
There was no resting on their laurels for Fordham, as they stormed out of the gate to swipe all six singles points. The domination began with the play of Kavaloski, defeating Russutto in straight sets (6-1,6-1). The straight set victories would continue when Borak rolled past Sebastian Roj (6-1, 6-3). Alonso clinched the match with yet another straight sets triumph against Paredes (6-4, 6-3). The Rams had a victory secured but were not content to just play out the schedule. Li and Cosmai each picked up three set wins at the expense of Rodriguez (2-6,6-3,12-10) and Ivanov (2-6,7-6,10-8), respectively. Posillico capped an explosive day on the court off with a (7-5,6-0) sweep.
Second-year head coach Michael Sowter was pleased with his team’s performance out of the gate. “Great start to the season,” he said after the final match. “I was extremely pleased with how hard everyone battled, especially when the matches were tight.”
His team carries over a 2-0 record from the fall season and stays undefeated. Saint Peter’s stays winless at 0-4. The Rams will be back home for their next match, when they host A-10 rival Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.
