April 18, 2009

Final Stats

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The top-seeded Navy men's tennis posted a 4-0 victory over Bucknell Saturday morning at West Point in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. With the win the Mids now move on to Sunday's championship match where they will face third-seeded Army.

That contest begins at 1 p.m. and will determine the league's representative to the NCAA Tournament. It marks the third consecutive year in which the two service academies will vie in the tournament final. Navy has recorded 4-0 wins over Army in both the 2007 and '08 final.

The Black Knights secured their place in Sunday's final with a 4-0 win over No. 2 Colgate.

Navy (17-7) began the day by recording wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to earn the doubles point over Bucknell (8-11). First to finish was the No. 3 team of Owen Bullard (So., Concord, N.C.) and Ramsey Lemaich (Jr., Danville, Calif.), who won an 8-1 decision over the tandem of Dan Bednarek and Jon Brenner. Navy's No. 2 team of Nick Birger (So., Belleville, Ill.) and Jason Hill (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) then secured the point for the Mids when they posted an 8-5 win over Gregg Cohenca and Mark Malloy.

In the match that was stopped due to the doubles point already being decided, Navy's team of Nate Nelms (Sr., St. Mary's, Ga.) and Johnny Waters (Sr., Papillion, Neb.) was leading Anton Kovic and Ryan Sandburg by the score of 7-5 when play was ended.

"We started a little slow in doubles today," said Navy head coach John Officer. "Bucknell had a match Friday and we did not, so they were ready to go and we took a little time to get going. But we were able to withstand their early efforts and came away with the point."

The Mids did not start slow in singles, however, as Navy won the first set in each of the six matches. Bullard notched Navy's second point of the afternoon when he tallied a 6-0, 6-0 win over Clark Bogle at No. 6 singles. The Mids pulled to within match point when Lemaich won a 6-2, 6-1 contest over Bednarek at No. 5 singles, then secured their place in the program's third consecutive league final when Hill recorded a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cohenca at No. 4 singles.

"After we won the doubles point, we loosened up our play in singles," said Officer. "We played especially well at numbers four, five and six singles."

Navy 4, Bucknell 0
Doubles -- Navy wins the doubles point (match finish order: 3-2)
1. Nelms / Waters (N) led Kovic / Sandburg, 7-5, DNF
2. Nick Birger / Hill (N) def. Cohenca / Malloy, 8-5
3. Bullard / Lemaich (N) def. Bednarek / Jon Brenner, 8-1
Singles (match finish order: 6-5-4)
1. Nate Nelms (N) led Ryan Sandburg, 6-2, 2-2, DNF
2. Johnny Waters (N) led Anton Kovic, 6-2, 4-4, DNF
3. Marcus Rebersak (N) led Mark Malloy, 6-1, 4-5, DNF
4. Jason Hill (N) def. Gregg Cohenca, 6-3, 6-2
5. Ramsey Lemaich (N) def. Dan Bednarek, 6-2, 6-2
6. Owen Bullard (N) def. Clark Bogle, 6-0, 6-0