The men’s tennis season came to a close last Thursday after losing to the Duquesne University Dukes, 4-1, at the Atlantic 10 Championships. The seventh seeded Dukes advanced in the tournament to play the eventual champions George Washington. The Bonnies’ season ended with an overall record of 5-11, and a conference record of 1-4.
The Bonnies lost two of the three doubles matches and conceded the doubles point to start the match. Senior Eduardo Irizarry and sophomore Victor Blanco won their match 7-5 after senior Carlos de La Cruz and sophomore Hector Martinez dropped the first match 6-2. The team of freshmen, Blake McGuirt and Miki Nobuzawa, was unable to pull off a win in its match, falling 7-5 and giving Duquesne a 1-0 lead.
De La Cruz said the team should have been able to win the doubles point and, if they had, it would have given them more momentum in the singles matches.
“The team played really well, and we had them,” said de La Cruz. “We won in the first court and unfortunately lost in the second court, which was my court. On the third court, we had them. We were up 5-3, and because of the pressure we lost the set, which ended up costing us the whole point.”
In the singles matches, the team had a chance for a comeback but came up short. Nobuzawa and Marcelo Vazquez each lost in straight sets. Martinez won in straight sets to give the Bonnies a point. The remaining three matches were pushed to three sets, and the first match to finish was McGuirt, who won the first set but lost the match. That loss put the score at 4-1.
De La Cruz said if court No. 5, which was McGuirt, could have pulled off a win, the team looked in position for a comeback. He also said the doubles point was crucial, and ended up costing them the match.
“We were very close in all the matches,” said de La Cruz. “We were there in all our matches. Victor (Blanco) had a match point in his match, and Eduardo (Irizarry) was playing the third set, so if we won the match in court five, we might have been able to win the whole match.”
McGuirt said the team faltered in high-pressure situations, which ended up costing them the match.
“We could have done better in the big moments,” said McGuirt. “We did not win the important points in the matches.”
De La Cruz said that despite having a losing record, the team did not have that bad of a season.
“We have to keep in mind that we were facing a lot of good teams,” said de La Cruz. “We played ranked teams and teams that usually win their conference. We played a very difficult schedule this year.”
The team now begins preparations for next season. A majority of the players are underclassmen, so the team will have experience heading into the next year.
As for improvements the team should focus on, de La Cruz put heavy emphasis on the doubles point.
“We had chances in a lot of the doubles matches, we just did not take them,” said de La Cruz. “The doubles point can define some matches, so it is crucial to win. With more solid doubles teams, we will be able to win a lot more matches.”
Looking at next season, McGuirt said the team needs to focus on every point so that it do not falter in big moments.
“We need to build on the team’s chemistry,” said McGuirt. “If we build on that, we will be able to win some of the close matches that we would have lost this year.”
signorra15@bonaventure.edu
