Alfred, NY and Wilkes Barre, PA – The SUNY Oneonta Men's tennis split its squad today playing separate matches against the Alfred University Saxons and the Wilkes University Colonels and went 1-1 on the day.

Beginning in Alfred doubles competition saw the number one duo of senior James Garzia (Marcellus/Marcellus) and freshman Ben Cohen (Dresher, PA/Upper Dublin) double up their opponents and secured an impressive 8-4 triumph.  The number two flighted team of sophomore Alex Reiley and sophomore Kiran Narsipur (Ossining/Ossining) win easily 8-1.  The number three team did not compete and Oneonta was forced to take a 2-1 lead after the doubles stanza. 

Singles competition was also a one-sided affair as senior Andrew Reiley (Manorville/Eastport) struggling with season long injuries carried the top position in singles and succeeded winning in a tough match 6-4, 4-6 and 6-1.  Cohen took home a victory in the third position 6-2, 6-2.   Alexander Reiley (Manorville/Eastport) also found success in the fourth position earning a 6-2, 6-2 win followed by Narsipur who tallied a victory at number five with an impressive winning score of 6-1, 6-2.  The sixth position did not compete today but the Red Dragons despite the handicap came away with a well-earned victory 6-3 on the day earning the fifth win for Oneonta this season in what has proven to be a very challenging schedule against top talent.

The other half of the split squad did not fare quite as well. 

The Wilkes University Colonels a team that has won the Mac Freedom conference 12 times in a row and gone to the NCAA Championships each of those years proved a little too strong for the Red Dragons.  Oneonta had two breaks of serves in the second and third doubles matches, but what has become a recurring theme they just could not hold them and succumbed 8-5 and 8-6 respectfully.

The singles play saw highly competitive competition but with a 3-0 deficit after doubles this proved too much to rebound from.  Noteworthy matches came from senior Zach Lasky (Colonie/Colonie) playing in the number two position played a close first set but went down 6-4 and were serving for the set in the second at 5-4 but were broken and Lasky lost his serve and had to settle for a straight set loss.  Senior Cole Laffitte (East Setauket/Ward Melville) was playing in the fourth position today and was dominant as he took back to Oneonta an impressive win scoring a 6-0, 6-3 win.  Senior Timothy Distler (Amityville/St. John the Baptist) played valiantly in the fifth position and split sets but could not come out of the super-tiebreaker victoriously and settled for a 6-3, 3-6, (10-2) setback.  Freshman Riley Smith (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) was outstanding and earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory in the sixth spot.  But the Red Dragons had to settle for a 7-2 loss overall.

Next up is Hamilton College a representative from the toughest tennis conference in the country.  The Red Dragons defeated them two years ago and will try and take them down again on Saturday, April 14th at 12 noon on the campus of Hamilton.