Men's tennis has rough time at A-10s

By Amanda King
Collegian Staff
April 12, 2006

The men’s tennis team had a rough uphill battle at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Monroeville, Pa. this past weekend.

“We fought tough at A-10s this weekend,” senior Marco Onorato said. “The guys knew that they were going to be facing the toughest competition of the season, so they came out hungry.”

The team faced off against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Friday. St. Bonaventure won all of the doubles and singles matches, giving them a 4-0 win.

“[We were paired] up against the fourth seeded team, and we were simply overmatched,” said Onorato.

The team came back on Saturday in the consolation round with a more closely matched battle against Fordham University. The doubles team of junior Ross Flockerzie and freshman Justin Feiner provided the La Salle team with its only doubles win against the Fordham Rams’ duo of Phil Bednarczyk and Gilbert Ott.

“It was up and down for Justin and I; we were down early in the match 4-1. It was a game of challenge; it was a game of momentum, and we definitely had the momentum,” Flockerzie said. “Justin played extremely well; he used his height and size to his advantage. In general, we battled back, and we ended up winning 8-6. It was an exciting match; it was one of those where you jump up and hug each other at the end.”

Flockerzie also stepped it up in his singles match as he went on to beat Fordham’s Michael Mistis, 6-1 and 5-2. Freshman Chris Butera made his mark at the match as he dominated Phil Bednarczyk with the scores of 6-2 and 6-0. Lastly, scoring in singles was freshman Erik Glick. He fought it out against Pat Toole and won both games, 7-5 and 6-0. Although La Salle had a strong showing in the doubles matches, it was not enough to beat out Fordham. The Rams won the match 4-3, ending La Salle’s run in the A-10 Championships.

“Our consolation was against Fordham, which was a team that we lost to 5-2 earlier in the season. It was a hard fought match, but we lost again, 4-3,” Onorato said. “Our younger guys stepped up though, and I give them credit for that.”

For those coming back next season, the loss of Onorato will affect the team. However, the presence of the current freshmen at the meet this past weekend shows that the team will be able to make up for his leaving.

“I had a great experience these four years, and I’m going to miss the collegiate competition, but I have to move on to bigger and better things once I graduate. I wish my team the best for the future, and I will always be around to give a hand if needed,” Onorato said.

kinga3@lasalle.edu