April 24, 2008

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette men's tennis will take on the host of the Patriot League Tennis championships with a 9:15 a.m. match against No. 3 seed Colgate on Friday. The Leopards are the sixth seed, a spot they secured after defeating Lehigh 5-2 on April 17.

The three-day event begins with Lafayette's match against the Raiders and will continue on Friday with No. 3 Bucknell playing No. 6 Lehigh and No. 2 Army taking on No. 7 Holy Cross.

Colgate won the regular-season match on April 12 against the Leopards by a slim 4-3 margin in Hamilton, N.Y. Three underclassmen recorded the singles victories for Lafayette with freshman Justin Haar earning a three-set victory at No. 5 singles over Michael Yassky. Sophomores Eric Wiley and James Murphy took wins in singles at No. 2 and No. 6, respectively.

Murphy and Wiley paired up for an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles although victories at first and third secured the doubles point for the Raiders. Colgate took the remaining three singles matches en route to the 4-3 victory.

Lafayette's other league victory came against archrival Lehigh on April 17. The Leopards defeated the Mountain Hawks 5-2 for the first time since 2005, claiming the No. 5 seed. Senior Brett Kraft and junior Lee Kojanis won a tight battle in second doubles to take the doubles point after Wiley and Murphy won at No. 3

Wiley, Kraft, Harr and Murphy all recorded victories in singles as Lafayette dropped just two matches to Lehigh at Sullivan Courts.

The winner of Friday's quarterfinal match will go on to face No. 1 Navy. The Midshipmen earned a first round bye as a result of their top-seeded regular-season effort of 5-0 in the Patriot League.