By Tyler Piraino
Contributing Writer
The members of the SBU tennis teams finished up their fall season last weekend and hit the courts again Jan. 26 and 27 when they host St. Francis in the first home meet of the spring season.
Head Coach Michael Bates, now in his 18th year, believes his teams are improving, but still have a long way to go before they reach their potential.
“We definitely have a ways to go,” Bates said. “I don’t think we’ve played particularly well in any tournament so far this year, and a lot of these guys have to accept the challenge a little bit more.”
The Bonnies had mixed results on the court this season, but the lessons learned from the fall will undoubtedly help them to prepare for the tough competition they will face in the spring, according to Bates.
The men’s team traveled to Yale for the USTA/ITA Northeast Regional tournament last weekend to battle with some of the top tennis players in the region.
Seniors Oscar Yanez, Luis Guevara and junior Elliot Fanshel represented the Bonnies in the singles tournament. All three lost their opening round matches. Yanez was defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 by Cornell’s Kyle Berman, Guevara was beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Joris Van Eck of Marist and Fanshel was eliminated 2-6, 6-0, 6-0 by Binghamton’s Ismael Dinia.
The doubles team of Yanez and Guevara also tasted defeat when they lost to Fairfield’s Erik Kremheller and Cameron Amyot 8-4.
The women’s team visited the Lichtenberg Tennis Center at Army to compete in the USTA/ITA Northeast Regional. Sophomore Marissa Brossard won her opening match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 but was eliminated in the next round in straight sets to Cornell’s Dena Tanebaum 6-2, 6-3.
Fellow sophomore Fatya Amiri also competed in the tournament, losing her opening round match 6-2, 6-1, to Columbia’s Ioana Alecsiu. The doubles team of Brossard and Amiri suffered a setback when they were defeated 8-0 by a Cornell duo of Lauren Frazier and Sarah O’Neil.
