Acing their way into competition led by the doubles team of Will Drumright and Bryan Einstosss, the University of Hartford men’s tennis team enjoyed a strong opening weekend at the Connecticut State Championships hosted by Yale.
Drumright and Einstoss advanced to the finals of the “A” doubles bracket in their first action of the 2015–16 season.
Men’s coach Torr Terranova had nothing but high praise for the team.
“This was a strong opening for the team,” Terranova said. “Going into the event, the staff pressed on playing smart, competitive doubles. I feel we accomplished this goal, having everyone show vast improvement with decision making and execution. Will and Bryan were the perfect example of that.
“Another area of success was our depth,” he added. “We have the deepest team, in terms of skill and ability, that we have had in over a decade. All 10 student-athletes showed incredible poise, competitiveness and desire. If everyone plays as consistently as they did over the weekend and pays attention to areas that still need to be improved upon, this year has great potential to be magical.”
Terranova is beyond excited for what this team has to offer.
Starting off in doubles, Drumright and Einstoss took out the Yale duo of Jason Brown/Nathan Brown in the opening round, 6-2, then defeated Fairfield’s pair of Jeffrey Rodgers/Ofir Solomon 6-4.
A matchup with Quinnipiac’s Jonas Kuwert/Willen van Biezen was next and it produced a 7-5 victory for the Hawks duo, setting up a showdown against Yale’s Photiades/Charlie Adams in the finals on Sunday.
Drumright and Einstoss put up a strong fight, but fell in the finals by a score of 6-2.
With such a valiant fight they are poised to continue to do well throughout the season.
Over on the singles side, Alexander Romaine had a standout performance in the “B” singles bracket for the Hawks as well.
The sophomore delivered a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Sacred Heart’s Cory Seltman in the opening round, then continued in the winner’s bracket with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Fairfield’s Luke Lemieux. He then battled with Marist’s Carlos Romero in an epic contest, falling by a score of 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 in a tremendous fight. Romaine then capped off the event with a win in the consolation bracket, topping Fairfield’s Peter Colliard in another marathon match, 6-2, 2-6, 12-10.
Several other Hawks posted strong results in the “B” singles draw.
Einstoss, junior Harrison Max, senior Nicholas Sharwarko and junior Morgan White, each won two matches over the two days, while senior Luis Montes also registered a victory in the draw.
On the doubles side, the duo of Romaine and sophomore Daniel Rombola won a pair of matches in the “B” draw, with Sharwarko and junior Juan Molina also collecting a pair of wins.
Max and Montes collected a victory on the doubles side as well at the event.
Rombola also played one of the best singles matches of any Hawk in his opening round in the “A” flight, falling in a tremendous battle against Yale’s Photiades, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Molina also collected a victory against Sacred Heart’s Matthew Suprenant in the “B” flight consolation matches, 6-4, 6-2.
The men’s team will return to action next weekend for the UConn Invite, followed by the first home match of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 29, a dual against Fairfield slated for 2 p.m.
The men’s tennis team is starting off really strong and this is great to see.