Feb. 25, 2008

The Netters started out the night with doubles matches featuring Brian Fitzgerald and Dan Schneider at the No. 1 spot, Jordan Lipstock and Matt Vaughn at the No.2 spot, and Stas Budagov and Harwood Hoskins at the No. 3 spot. Unfortunately for the Patriots the duo of Lipstock and Vaughn fell first in a close match, losing 8-6, but Fitzgerald and Schneider responded with a match showcasing powerful forehands and even more stellar backhands to win the match 8-4. Budagov and Hoskins finished the doubles winning, 8-6, and securing the first point of the day.

In singles action Fitzgerald made quick work of Matt McGranaghan, winning 6-1, 6-0. Fitzgerald's play was phenomenal as he dictated the pace and spot McGranaghan hit. After countless unforced errors and some shoelace shots by Fitzgerald he moved to 2-0 on the day, (3-2) in singles, and (3-2) in doubles. Everyone else fell to an early lead losing the first game and match, but rallied to close the gap. Budagov had several great shots forcing Wiley to lose his head, but quickly reclaimed the lead after every charge made by Budagov. Brown finished it off for the Patriots as there were only five courts and six matches to be played. With the entire team and fans watching Brown battled doing all he could to win. With both competitors showing fatigue and both suffering from some unforced errors, Lafayette's James Murphy came out with the victory sealing the Patriots loss 5-2.

The Patriots move to 1-4 on the season and have to go on the road to visit UMBC in Baltimore at 2:30 on Tuesday March 4th.

Doubles
Fitzgerald/Schneider (MAS) def. Kraft/Kojanis 8-4
Wiley/Murphy def. Lipstock/Vaughn (MAS) 8-6
Budagov/Hoskins (MAS) def. Haar/Maclelland 8-6
  Singles
Brian Fitzgerald (MAS) def. McGranaghan 6-1, 6-0
Wiley def. Stas Budagov (MAS) 6-4, 6-3
Kraft def. Dan Schneider (MAS) 6-2, 6-0
Kojanis def. Harwood Hoskins (MAS) 6-3, 6-0
Haar def. Jordan Lipstock (MAS) 6-2, 6-2
Murphy def. Matt Brown (MAS) 6-4, 6-4