Box Score Canton, NY - The SUNY Oneonta Men's Tennis Team seem to find drama with many of their matches and in the second match of the young spring season Sunday's match with St. Lawrence was no different.  In a close match the Red Dragons dropped a 6-3 decision.

The afternoon began with the doubles competition and the number one team of sophomore Joseph D'Orazio (Smithtown/Smithtown) and senior Michael Nelson (Manhasset/Manhasset) picked up an early break and the pair held on as they dominated with their serve and superior aggressive net play. The third team of freshman Marco Ammirati (Huntington/Huntington) and junior Zach Lasky (Latham/Colonie) were actually up service breaks twice in the match but then got broke twice themselves and the newly formed pair playing only their second time together lost a heartbreaker 8-5 and therefore the Red Dragons were down 2-1 after the doubles stanza was completed.

In singles the Red Dragons played valiantly and dramatically throughout coming close to pulling off the upset against St. Lawrence who have beaten the Red Dragon the last four times. At number two singles D'Orazio owned three set points in the first set tiebreaker but could not close his opponent out and was unable to win that elusive last point.  In the second set D'Orazio tried to play through an abdominal pull but could not overcome the first set loss and the injury and settled for a 7-6, 6-2 loss.  Junior Cole Laffitte (East Setauket/Ward Melville) played great tennis saving match points in the second set and won that set to pull even in the match 1-1 but his Saints opponents jumped out to a quick lead in the third and final set and Laffitte could not regroup and lost his match at fourth singles 6-2, 5-7, 6-0.  Two more highlights on the day for the Red Dragons was when at fifth singles junior Zach Lasky (Latham/Colonie) dominated from the get go and secured victory 6-2, 6-2 and sixth singles player Nicholas Fox (Commack/Commack) split sets and won a tight match in the deciding super- tiebreaker with a score of 6-3, 2-6 (10-8).

The Red Dragons will go back on the road and play the defending Skyline Conference champion Yeshiva Maccabees the Skyline Champions on Wednesday, March 1 beginning at 8 PM at the Edgewater, NJ Racquet Club.