The men’s tennis team participated in its third fall tournament over Sept. 23-25 at Navy’s Joe Hunt Invitational.

The tournament’s first day saw two pairs compete in doubles. In Flight A doubles, duo Dan Wright ’18 and Andrei Vitiuc ’19 defeated Temple 6-3 in their first round. In quarterfinals, the pair fell to the top-seeded twosome from George Washington. Max McDonald ’19 teamed with Colin Sacco ’20 to compete in Flight C doubles. After receiving a bye in the first round, the duo topped St. Bonaventure 6-1 in quarterfinals. The pair bounced back from a loss in Sept. 24’s semifinals by defeating the top-seed in the third-place match.

After winning his first match in Flight D singles, McDonald fell in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded player. McDonald recovered by tallying straight-set wins over his next two opponents to finish in fifth place.

Max Kane ’18 accomplished arguably the most memorable feat of the tournament. During singles competitions, Kane went 5-0 in Flight E. His quarterfinal victory against his second-seeded opponent of George Mason (6-3, 6-2) was followed by a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the third-seeded player from University of Richmond in semifinals. Kane secured the first place title, tallying a 6-2, 6-3 win over Mary Washington. Kane’s sweep placed him at the top of 24 other contenders, earning him his second tournament title of his career.

Head coach Bruce Myers reflected that he and Kane had been working on perfecting a more penetrating ball in tense matches.

“I will honestly say that from the first ball to the last, it marked improvement over the first fall tournament, and knowing Kane as I do, I think we are just scratching the surface of what he is capable of on the tennis court,” Myers said.

Kane recognized the individual help from Myers and the opportunity to practice with Bryan Adams ’17 as some of the factors that led to his notable performance.

“This individual attention has really helped me zone in on particular aspects of my game that need work. I will take the confidence I gained from the tournament and use it to motivate me for our spring season. Our entire team looked sharp this weekend, and I look forward to a successful upcoming season,” Kane said.

The Orange and Blue were forced to compete in multiple matches, both singles and doubles, this weekend in a short span of time. When it came to combating fatigue in order to perform, Myers was impressed with his athletes.

“Surprisingly, with the amount of tennis we played in a 48-hour window, the players did very well from a fitness and health aspect. No one quit, and they played and competed hard from start to finish,” Myers said.

In consideration of the Bison’s performances after the hard work they put into their practices between tournaments, Myers noted the improvements that each athlete is making. “There is still a way to go to get them performing at the level I think they are capable of reaching,” Myers added.

The Orange and Blue will return Oct. 7-9 to compete at the Farnsworth Invitational in Princeton, N.J. after having a weekend off.