It’s hard to start a homestand any better than the men’s tennis team did on Saturday. The Falcons improved their record to 11-8 in dual match play by defeating Duquesne and Bradley by scores of 5-1 and 7-0, respectively. The matches were played outdoors and the players had to deal with temperatures in the 40s and a swirling wind.
“We came out focused and dominated under tough conditions,” senior Mike Kossoff said. “The coach used a mostly veteran team and that helped us get the wins.”
With junior Geoff Hiscox struggling to play because of a sprained ankle, Falcons coach Jay Harris used a lineup of mainly upperclassmen to face Duquesne and Bradley.
Kossoff won twice on Saturday in singles, defeating Duquesne’s Mike Lydecker (6-1, 6-0) and Bradley’s Mike Walz (6-0, 3-6, 6-3). Against Bradley in the doubles point, Kossoff and fellow senior Ed Kuresman defeated the duo of Marijon Panzic and Paul Craigen (6-4, 6-4).
The team also received strong performances from Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo and Joel Carney, who were each undefeated in their matches on Saturday. Vitek Wild rebounded from a loss in the match against Duquesne to dominate Panzic (6-0, 6-3) in singles. Kossoff hopes the win sets a tone for the rest of the season.
“We are looking at the rest of the season because that’s all we have left,” Kossoff said. “All we can do now is have a good rest of the season and try to win the MAC tournament.”
The team is now looking forward to its next match, which will be at home against DePaul on Saturday. The team has a rivalry with DePaul, a squad that has beaten it in several close matches over the years. BG will have the services of Hiscox for the match, who is now healthy after more than a week of rest. Hiscox said he is happy to be back on the court, especially against a team like DePaul.
“I’m excited,” Hiscox said. “I haven’t played in the last six matches and DePaul will be good competition for us.”
The Falcons have made it clear that it is important for them to win the match, especially considering that this will be the final meeting between the two schools.
“I have grown up hating those guys and we haven’t beaten them,” Kossoff said. “We hate DePaul and they hate us. Now it has all come down to this final point.”
Hiscox was also intense when describing the upcoming match. He said the team will have to prepare differently for the match against DePaul, which like BG, is fighting to be nationally ranked.
“We’ll beat them,” Hiscox said. “But we will definitely have to take it to another level.”
The match will probably take place indoors because of the weather. The match will start at noon.
