SAINTS SWEEP DOUBLES EN ROUTE TO

8-1 WIN OVER YELLOWJACKETS

April 6: The St. Lawrence University men’s tennis team used a 3-0 sweep in doubles to jump-start itself to an 8-1 rout of the University of Rochester on Sunday evening at the Newell Field House. With the win, the Saints (6-5) won back-to-back contests for the first time this season.

The Scarlet and Brown won comfortably at the No. 2 and 3 doubles spots, as the rookie duo of Will Cook and Ryan Gillard handled Rochester’s Bennett Peterson and Dan Barbash, 8-3 while sophomores Christopher Tamm and Chris Rodilosso defeated Patrick Sheehan and Adam Crosby 8-2.

However, the point at the top-seeded doubles match would not be won as easily, as junior Jon Satkowski and sophomore Chris McDonald fell behind 5-1 in their match against Brian Bowman and Ryan Kovaleski. Despite the deficit, the Saints’ tandem continued to chip away, and pulled even at 7-7.

With the match tied at that same score, it appeared Rochester would earn an easy point when Kovaleski spiked a hard shot that seemed well out of reach for either St. Lawrence player. Satkowski, though, back-peddled into the court’s back curtain and hit a perfect off-balance return that landed on the Rochester baseline and allowed the Saints to capture the point and eventually the match.

“I think Jon’s incredible shot while running into the curtain really swung the momentum in our favor both in that No. 1 doubles match, but also in singles play,” said Saints’ head coach Jeremy Freeman. “It pumped our entire team up, and we used that to our advantage.”

After capturing the 3-0 lead, the Saints never looked back, posting a dominant 5-1 showing in the singles round against the Yellowjackets (7-8).

Satkowski was too much for Bowman at the No. 1 spot, as the Salisbury Mills, NY native won 6-1, 6-1 followed by a solid win by fellow classmate Pete Abernethy at No. 2, 6-2, 5-7, 10-4, against Kovaleski.

Cook and Gillard each continued to impress with No. 4 and 5 singles wins, making quick work of Sheehan and Crosby, 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-0, respectively. St. Lawrence’s final point came from senior Amin Danai at No. 6 singles, who came from behind to defeat Barbash 6-7 (11), 6-1, 10-4.

Rochester’s only point in the match came from Peterson, who defeated McDonald at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-2.

“I think we’ve gained a lot of confidence this spring and it’s been showing since our trip to Hilton Head,” added Coach Freeman. “We’ll need to keep that same energy heading into Liberty League action next weekend.”

The Saints will travel to Geneva, NY to take on Hobart College in conference play on Saturday, April 12 at 12:30pm.

SAINTS LOOK SHARP IN 9-0 VICTORY

OVER GOLDEN FLYERS

April 5: The St. Lawrence University men’s tennis team swept the doubles portion of a match for the first time this season on Saturday en route to a 9-0 rout of Nazareth College. Each singles player for

St. Lawrence won their match against the Golden Flyers in straight sets to improve to 5-5 on the season.

Junior Jon Satkowski and sophomore Chris McDonald teamed to defeat Nazareth’s Jon Weaver and Terrance Nichols, 8-5, at the top-seeded doubles spot, while the rookie tandem of Ryan Gillard and Will Good beat Stephen Trobert and Adam Landry, 8-2 at No. 2 doubles.

The Scarlet and Brown picked up the 3-0 sweep when sophomores Christopher Tamm and Chris Rodilosso overmatched Ben Cailla and Jerry Stocker, 8-1 at the final doubles spot.

“Having struggled at times in doubles competition this season, I am very pleased with the way we played this afternoon in taking all three matches,” said St. Lawrence head coach Jeremy Freeman. “That got the momentum on our side throughout the rest of the match.”

Satkowski would keep the Saints on track with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Weaver at the No. 1 singles spot, while junior Pete Abernethy overcame Nichols, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2.

McDonald and Cook added wins over Landry and Trobert, respectively by the scores of 6-2, 6-3 and 6-1,

6-2. Gillard contributed a 6-3, 6-0 win over Nazareth’s Alexander Bodensieck at No. 5 singles, while senior co-captain Amin Danai completed the 9-0 sweep with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Stocker.

The Saints will look to win consecutive matches for the first time this spring when they welcome the University of Rochester to the Newell Field House tomorrow, Sunday, April 6.