March 6, 2009
Final Stats
KENNESAW, Ga. - The young Kennesaw State men's tennis team played its best all-around match of the season Friday, ending visiting Buffalo's four-match winning streak by handing the Bulls a 4-3 defeat at the KSU Tennis Complex.
"In our short history, this is the biggest win we have had," said Kennesaw State Director of Tennis Operations and Assistant Coach T.J. Greggs on the win. "Our guys finally showed the resolve needed to close out a tight match."
The Owls quickly took the lead on the beautiful March afternoon, winning the doubles point by taking two of three matches.
Justin Suesserman and Lawrence Washington continued their strong play as a team, moving to 5-2 on the season after cruising past Octavian Stane and Kristof Custers 8-3 at No. 3. Andrew Suesserman and Simon Janik sealed the doubles win at No. 2, battling past Mitch Zenaty and Alex Kalinin for the 8-6 win.
Tyler Mills pushed the Owls (3-5) lead to 2-0 with a quick defeat of Kirill Kolomyts at No. 2 singles. Mills won 6-3, 6-2 in straight-sets to earn his team-leading fourth win.
Marcelo Mazzetto proved too much for Washington at No. 1 as he earned a 6-3, 6-3 decision to pull the Bulls (7-3) back within one. Simon Janik clawed back to push his No. 3 match to a second-set tiebreaker but couldn't prevail, eventually falling 6-1, 7-6(3) to Kalinin to even the match at 2-2.
Ryan Bouttell propelled the Owls back into the lead shortly after, winning his first match in nearly a month by defeating Guilherme Smaniotta 6-4, 7-6(3) at No. 6. The persistent Bulls evened the match once again when Stane took the No. 5 match 7-6(2), 6-3 from Andrew Suesserman, focusing all eyes on the battle between Michael Langel and Custers on court four.
The two freshmen exchanged sets early on, with Langel claiming the opener 6-2 before Custers evened the score with a 6-4 second-set win. Continuing the back-and-forth tone of the day, the two battled into a third-set tiebreaker before Langel and the Owls emerged victorious 7-6(4) for their biggest dual match win to date.
Denis Sergeychik also earned a victory, beating Buffalo's Tiago Gandum 6-3, 6-1 in exhibition play.
"Buffalo is a quality team," added Greggs. "This is a big win heading into the conference season."
The Owls will look to ride the momentum of the big win into Saturday's conference opener against Campbell. The match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and will be held at the KSU Tennis Complex on the university's main campus.
Kennesaw State University 4
University of Buffalo 3
Doubles Results
#1: Marcelo Mazzetto/Kirill Kolomyts def. Langel/Mills (KSU) 8-2
#2: A. Suesserman/Janik (KSU) def. Mitch Zenaty/Alex Kalinin 8-6
#3: Justin Suesserman/Washington (KSU) def. Octavian Stane/Kristof Custers 8-3
Singles Results
#1:Mazzetto def. Lawrence Washington (KSU) 6-3, 6-3
#2: Tyler Mills (KSU) def. Kolomyts 6-3, 6-2
#3: Kalinin def. Simon Janik (KSU) 6-1, 7-6 (3)
#4: Michael Langel (KSU) def. Custers 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4)
#5: Stane def. Andrew Suesserman (KSU) 7-6 (2), 6-3
#6: Ryan Bouttell (KSU) def. Guilherme Smaniotta 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Exhibition - Denis Sergeychik def. Tiago Gandum 6-3, 6-1
