Edgewater, NJ - The SUNY Oneonta men's tennis team got back to .500 on the year with an overwhelming shutout win over the Yeshiva University Maccabees.  The Maccabees are coming off several  years in a row of NCAA National Appearances but were no match for the Red Dragons on this occasion as they found themselves on the short end of a shutout delivered by Oneonta.

Doubles began with senior Marco Ammirati (Huntington/Huntington) and junior Riley Smith (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) taking total command with an 8-0 shutout in the first flight.  Freshman Jacob Dornsife (Wilmington, DE/Mt. Pleasant) and sophomore Matthew Reinhold (New Windsor/Newburgh Free Academy) had little trouble with dominant net play on route to an 8-3 win in the second doubles position.  Sophomore Dalton Capobianco (Daniel Island, SC/SC Connections Charter School) and junior Benjamin Cohen both fighting off the flu bug but hung on for an 8-6 win at the third flight clinching a 3-0 lead moving into singles play.

Ammirati at first singles was locked in a tight battle and was on the short end of a first set score of 6-3.  He bounced back to deadlock the match with a 6-0 win in the second set and cruised to a 10-7 win in the super breaker taking the triumph.  Dornsife had to move into an out of position spot in the singles field due to injuries  but never was in any trouble securing an impressive 6-2, 6-0 win in the second flight.   Freshman August LePique (New York, NY/Columbia) also moved into the third tier and long rallies was the theme of this match but Lepique won the crucial points impressing his teammates with steady tennis clinching a 6-3, 6-0 win.

In perhaps the most exciting match of the evening took place in the fourth tier as Smith was forced into two tough sets but edged his opponent in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.  Senior Alexander Reiley (Manorville/Eastport) was a winner in the fifth flight punishing his opponents with overpowering forehands besting his foe 6-2, 6-2.  Reinhold got the call for the first time this season filling in at the sixth position and took the most out of his opportunity winning 6-1, 6-3  also securing the shutout for the Red Dragons.

The win for the Red Dragons was a feel good moment as the team is entering a very challenging season with top opponents culminating with conference play in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.  The team is now 2-2 on the season with a trip to Florida ahead and their first opponent will be the Piedmont College Lions of Georgia on Monday morning March 9th in the Orlando area.  The exact time and location is still to be determined.