By Joe Ruby

Writer

The men’s tennis team earned its first win of the season on Friday, defeating host St. Francis (Pa.) by a score of 6-1. Kyle Rosen ’14 and Chris Tortora ’14 each won their first matches as Bison.

In the doubles phase of the contest, the Bison took two of three and clinched the doubles point, with the team of Josh Katten ’13 and Kelly Morque ’13 winning the second doubles match 8-2 and the team of Rosen and Scott Bernstein ’14 earning the 8-3 victory in the third doubles match. Anton Kovic ’11 and Evan Zimmer ’13 were edged out in the first doubles match by a score of 8-7.

The Bison kept control of the competition in the singles phase, winning five of the six matches, all in two sets. Gregg Cohenca ’12, competing in the second slot, improved his singles record in duals to 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Youlian Natchev. In the third through sixth spots, Rosen, Mark Malloy ’11, Tortora, and Gregory Maxson ’13 each won their first dual matches of the year for the Bison. Tortora and Maxson were particularly dominant, each conceding only two games to their opponents.

The Bison will face non-conference opponent Niagara at 6 p.m. today in Olean, N.Y. The team will remain in Olean to face St. Bonaventure at 11 a.m. on Sunday.