Annapolis, Md.- The UMBC men's tennis team completed
the regular season in outstanding fashion, defeating Navy, 6-1, at
the USNA Tennis Courts.
UMBC evened its record at 9-9, heading into next weekend's
America East Conference Tournament. Navy slipped to 16-8 on the
campaign.
"I was really proud of the guys today bouncing back from a flat
performance againstBinghamton to defeat a tough Navy squad,"
head coach Rob Hubbard said.
The Retrievers came out strong to capture the doubles point,
winning matches at the Nos. 2 and 3 slots. At the No. 2 position, a
pair of freshmen, Juan Manuel Aranzazu (Ibague,Colombia) and Daniel Gray
(Bowie, Md./The Bullis School) defeated Tyler Burnett and
Marcus Rebersak, 8-2, followed by a victory by senior Joe
Adewumi (Phoenix, Ariz.) and freshman Kamal Patel
(Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley), 8-4, at the No. 3
position.
Patel and Aranzazu gave the Retrievers a 3-0 lead with
straight-set singles victories. Patel knocked off Alex Sisk, 6-2,
6-2, at the No. 6 position and Aranzazu bested Daniel Blake, 6-4,
6-2, at the No. 3 hole.
Junior Gaulthier
Berret (Lagny Sur Marne, France) clinched the match for
the Retrievers with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Navy's Nicholas Gutsche
at No. 4 singles.
Senior Cristian Hodel (Calarasi, Romania) and
Adewumi added on the fifth and sixth points for UMBC. Hodel took
the top flight singles match, outlasting Calvin Mark, 6-3, 7-6
(7-5), while Adewumi won his 99th career match,
rallying to defeat Peter McDonald, 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7) at the No.
2 position.
Seeding for the America East Tournament will be announced this
week. The tournament will be contested at the U.S. National Tennis
Center in Flushing, N.Y.l
