By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

Continuing from a great spring break trip when the Bison went 3-1, the men’s tennis team took down Mount St. Mary’s 6-1 in a dominating home performance.

Over spring break the Bison defeated South Dakota State (5-2), NJIT (5-2), and Boston University (4-3) with impressive matches by standout athletes on the team. Their only loss was to Liberty University as they fell 6-1. The most impressive match of the trip was a four-hour marathon played by Josh Katten ’13 that gave the Bison the winning match for their victory over Boston University.

“On the spring break trip we spent a lot of time together and this formed closer bonds between us,” Kelly Morque ’13 said.

In the match against Mount St. Mary’s the team cruised through doubles play as the first, second and third pairings won by scores of 8-1, 8-5 and 8-2.

The team showed poise throughout and never surrendered a key point that could break their momentum.

“We’ve been competing very well so far. Even if one of us is having a bad day and not playing well, we know our teammates will step up for us,” Morque said.

In singles play, the Bison won all but one of six matches as Evan Zimmer ’13, Kyle Rosen ’14, Mark Malloy ’11, Gregory Maxson ’12 and Katten all came away with victories. None of the players surrendered a set in their victories.

“We have done a very good job at staying positive on the court. Each of us is showing a lot of energy on the court, and that energy has spread throughout the team. By staying positive and focused during our matches, we have been able to beat some very tough opponents,” Malloy said.

This is only the beginning for the Bison as they aim toward their eventual goal of a Patriot League Championship. The road will be long before they get there, with many Patriot League foes standing in their way.

The Bison will be in action this Saturday when they take on George Mason. This match will be preparation for the opening of their conference schedule, the following day when they compete against Navy in Annapolis, Md.

“It is always important to get a lot of matches under your belt before conference play, because it allows for us to find the weaknesses in our games and work on them,” Malloy said.