April 15, 2011

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- After securing the doubles point, the Navy men's tennis team won a trio of straight set singles matches to post a 4-0 victory over Lafayette in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal round match contested Friday afternoon at the Ulrich Varsity Courts in Bethlehem, Pa.

The third-seeded Mids move into Saturday's semifinal round against either No. 2 Lehigh or No. 7 Holy Cross with a 17-10 record on the year, while the sixth-seeded Leopards end their season with a record of 7-11.

"We had a very good day," said Navy head coach John Officer, who has guided the Mids to each of the last four league crowns. "We played extremely well and looked very good out there in convincingly winning or leading all but one of the singles matches."

The Mids won the doubles point thanks to victories by their Nos. 1 and 3 teams. Heyward Drayton (Fr., Valley Forge, Pa.) and Marcus Rebersak first teamed up for an 8-4 victory at No. 3 doubles over Scott Gelbman and Will Mercorella. Lafayette's No. 2 tandem of Doug Gallagher and Andrew Morris then posted an 8-5 win over Mike Eisenberg (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) and Nicholas Gutsche (So., Sarasota, Fla.). Navy would earn the doubles point when its No. 1 team of Nick Birger (Sr., Belleville, Ill.) and Owen Bullard (Sr., Concord, N.C.) won an 8-5 decision against Justin Haar and Sinan Ipeker.

Bullard quickly put Navy's second team point of the day on the scoreboard with his 6-3, 6-0 win over Haar at No. 1 singles. The margin grew to 3-0 as Matt Richmond (So., Kalamazoo, Mich.) tallied a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Mercorella at No. 5 singles. The Mids would close out play when Rebersak won a 6-3, 6-0 decision over Gallagher at No. 2 singles.

Drayton led Ipeker, 6-2, 2-4 at No. 3 singles, Gutsche held a 6-3, 3-0 advantage over Gelbman at No. 4 singles and Lafayette's Kyle MacLelland was leading Birger by the score of 6-3, 3-3 when the matches were stopped due when the Mids clinched the team victory.

"This team continues to amaze me," said Officer. "We are down three starters from the beginning of the season, but they came here this weekend to win a championship and it showed in their performance today. They truly are a team of fighters who keep battling back. I am very proud of this team."

Navy's match Saturday against either the host Mountain Hawks or the Crusaders will begin at 2 p.m. at the Lewis Tennis Center. The Mids dropped a 5-2 decision to Lehigh two weeks ago in the facility and did not face Holy Cross this year.

Navy (17-10) def. Lafayette (7-11), 4-0
Doubles (3-2-1) -- Navy wins the doubles point
1. Birger, Nick / Bullard, Owen (NAVY) def. Haar, Justin / Ipeker, Sinan, 8-5
2. Gallagher, Doug / Morris, Andrew (LAF) def. Eisenberg, Mike / Gutsche, Nicholas, 8-5
3. Drayton, Heyward / Rebersak, Marcus (NAVY) def. Gelbman, Scott / Mercorella, Will, 8-4
Singles (1-5-2)
1. Bullard, Owen (NAVY) def. Haar, Justin, 6-3, 6-0
2. Rebersak, Marcus (NAVY) def. Gallagher, Doug, 6-3, 6-0
3. Drayton, Heyward (NAVY) led Ipeker, Sinan, 6-2, 2-4, unfinished
4. Gutsche, Nicholas (NAVY) led Gelbman, Scott, 6-3, 3-0, unfinished
5. Richmond, Matt (NAVY) def. Mercorella, Will, 6-0, 6-1
6. MacLelland, Kyle (LAF) led Birger, Nick, 6-2, 3-3, unfinished