April 26, 2008

2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis Championship Page

Hamilton, N.Y. - Mother Nature must be a tennis fan, as she held off the rains to allow a great Saturday of semifinal action at the 2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis Championship. No. 1 Navy, playing their first match of the tournament, defeated upstart No. 5 Lafayette by a score of 4-0. In Saturday's other semifinal, No. 2 Army earned their second-consecutive sweep of the tournament with a 4-0 win over Bucknell.

Navy took to the court for the first time at Colgate's Joseph Abrahamson Tennis Courts, but after a few games the rust wore off and the Mids got things going. Jason Hill and Nick Birger got things going with an 8-3 victory at No. 3 doubles, while Ramsey Lemaich and Alex James closed out the doubles point for the Mids with an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles. In the singles competition, it was the 2007 tournament MVP Nate Nelms who got the ball rolling for Navy with a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles. Hill was close behind Nelms, finishing his match with a 6-0, 6-0 straight-set victory. Waters officially closed out the match for the Mids, picking up a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 2 singles. The Mids and Leopards played out the remainder of their matches, with Navy winning all three.

Army had a tough match with Bucknell, but in the end was able to pull out a 4-0 victory. The doubles tandem of Sean Harris and Johnny Lucero won at No. 2 singles, while Trip Johnson and Jordan Gridley closed out the doubles play with an 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles. In singles play, Phil Muhawi earned a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles to extend the lead to 2-0. Harris was next at No. 3 singles, as he pulled out a 6-4, 6-2 win for a 3-0 lead. Johnson closed out the match for the Black Knights with his convincing win at No. 4 singles, by a score of 6-1, 6-0.

The Mids and Black Knights will meet on the court for the second time in the past two weeks. Navy won the previous meeting by a score of 4-3.

For more information on this year's men's tennis championship, please visit the Patriot League men's tennis championship page by clicking here.

Saturday, April 27 - Semifinals

No. 1 Navy 4, No. 5 Lafayette 0

Singles
1. Nate Nelms, Navy def. Eric Wiley, Lafayette 6-1, 6-0
2. John Waters, Navy def. Brett Kraft, Lafayette 6-3, 7-5
3. Jason Hill, Navy def. Matt McGranaghan, Lafayette 6-0, 6-0
4. Ramsey Lemaich, Navy def. Justin Haar, Lafayette 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3), 10-8
5. Alex James, Navy def. Lee Kojanis, Lafayette 6-1, 6-0
6. Owen Bullard, Navy def. James Murphy, Lafayette 7-5, 6-2
*Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 5, 4, 6

Doubles
1. Nelms/Waters, Navy vs. Kraft/Kojanis, Lafayette 5-4 DNF
2. Lemaich/James, Navy def. Wiley/Murphy, Lafayette 8-2
3. Hill/Birger, Navy def. Kyle MacLelland/McGranaghan, Lafayette 8-3
*Order of finish: 3, 2

No. 2 Army 4, No. 3 Bucknell 0

Singles
1. Phil Muhawi, Army def. Ira Reibeisen, Bucknell
2. Eddie Kang, Army vs. Ryan Sandburg, Bucknell 6-7 (2), 3-4
3. Sean Harris, Army def. Zach Hascoe, Bucknell 6-4, 6-2
4. Trip Johnson, Army def. Jon Brenner, Bucknell 6-1, 6-0
5. Jordan Gridley, Army vs. Mark Malloy, Bucknell 0-0, 0-0 DNF
6. Bruno Lucivero, Army vs. Dan Bednarek, Bucknell 0-0, 0-0 DNF
*Order of finish: 1, 3, 4

Doubles
1. Muhawi/Kang, Army vs. Reibeisen/Sandburg, Bucknell 5-6 DNF
2. Harris/Johnny Lucero, Army def. Hascoe/Brenner, Bucknell 8-4
3. Johnson/Gridley, Army def. Malloy/Ben Davis, Bucknell 8-6
*Order of finish: 2, 3

Sunday, April 27 - Championship

No. 1 Navy vs. No. 2 Army, 1 p.m.