Box Score Edgewater, NJ – Last year, the four-time defending Skyline Champions and perennial NCAA tournament representatives Yeshiva Maccabees downed Oneonta Men's Tennis 5-4 and it was remembered as a barn burner.  Twelve months later history repeated itself as SUNY Oneonta headed to New Jersey to take on the defending champs and the Red Dragons gave them everything except the kitchen sink.  A four-hour emotionally charged match with two teams looking to seize any opportunity.

The first opportunity for the Red Dragons was awarded as Oneonta took a 2-1 lead after the doubles portion.  The newly formed team at number two doubles was sophomore Marco Ammirati (Huntington/Huntington) and junior Nicholas Fox (Commack/Commack) who were totally dominant in their competition taking that match 8-3.  Also at number three-doubles another newly formed team of freshman Riley Smith (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) and senior Cole Laffitte (East Setauket/Ward Melville) jumped out to a 3-0 lead.  While Yeshiva mounted a short lived comeback the Red Dragon tandem held on to take the match 8-5 on a crushing winner by Smith.

So with a 2-1 lead in hand going into singles the fireworks lit up.  Things were going along well for the Red Dragons as number one, four, and five and six singles won their first sets.  However, the match at number one singles with junior Joseph D'Orazio (Smithtown/Smithtown) became tied at one-set a piece as did number five singles player Laffitte having had to play super-tiebreakers with only one of them having to win to secure a Red Dragon Team victory.  It did not come to pass as D'Orazio lost the super breaker 10-6 and Laffitte dropped the breaker at 10-4.  Those singles victories by Yeshiva clinched the dual competition and for the second year in a row the Red Dragons were an inch of upsetting the conference champs from New York City.  Other notable wins came from senior Zach Lasky (Colonie/Colonie) who won in a very dramatic competition 6-2, 6-4 and senior Timothy Dister had a nice victory in the sixth spot securing a 6-3, 6-2 win.

The Red Dragons have to lick their wounds after losing three matches in a row to regionally ranked or NCAA berthed teams and prepare for their road trip to Florida.  The next match is against Hampden Sydney College on Tuesday, March 6^th beginning at 12:30 PM at the Fort Gatlin Tennis Center in Orlando, Florida.  The Red Dragon men will also be in action on Wednesday, March 7^th at 8 AM against Oglethorpe University at the Haines City – Lake Eva Tennis Center in Haines City, Florida and that same evening against Trine University beginning at 7:30 PM at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.