May 1, 2021
 
Oneonta, NY – A cold day in May which started out with snow flurries did not dampen senior day spirits on the campus of SUNY Oneonta and the Heissan Tennis Courts.  Celebration of seniors Ben Cohen (Dresher, PA/Upper Dublin) and Lucas Irace (Goshen/Goshen Central) were on tap today as the Red Dragon men closed out their shortened spring 2021 season finishing 3-2 on the year.

Doubles began with the SUNY Oswego Lakers already in the hole as they had to default the third flight allowing the Red Dragons to begin the dual competition already up 1-0.  The first doubles team of junior Matthew Reinhold (New Windsor/Newburgh Free Academy) and senior Riley Smith (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach) let up only one-game on route to a dominant 8-1 triumph with overwhelming net play and consistent serving.  The number two doubles tandem on the day was seniors Ben Cohen (Dresher, PA/Upper Dublin) and Lucas Irace (Goshen/Goshen Central) playing their last career match together and they turned in an 8-2 win closing out the double's session.

With a 3-0 lead and Oneonta playing well the Oswego Lakers had little chance at this point of turning the match around.  The sixth position had to be defaulted and that meant the lead expanded to 4-0 to start the singles competition.  Sophomore Jacob Dornsife (Wilmington, DE/Mt. Pleasant) inserted in the number one spot was almost perfect in setting his Lakers opponent down 6-0, 6-1.  Sophomore August Lepique had the same result, and he too was almost flawless cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 triumph.  The third tier had sophomore Mason Spotteck playing as he posted the same winning score of 6-0, 6-1 as he went big on all his shots today to close out the 2021 campaign.  The fourth position had Cohen securing his four-year career convincingly 6-0, 6-3.  His teammates and family were there to celebrate his victory.  In the fifth flight Irace had a small entourage of fans present and they celebrated with him as he posted a lopsided win with a double bagel 6-0, 6-0.

The victory on all courts today clinched a home and home shutout win v the SUNY Oswego Lakers.

So closes the spring 2021 Men's Tennis Red Dragons shortend season.  With the men only losing two players due to graduation and three freshmen returning who sat out the year with the COVID pandemic and two new promising players coming things are looking bright for SUNY Oneonta Men's Tennis.  They will resume play in the fall with their usual non-traditional season followed by a spring 2022 campaign when they will finally compete in their NJAC conference.