The College of Staten Island men’s tennis squad concluded the CUNYAC Regular Season as the No. 4 team in the seven-team tournament, and they will start their quest towards a championship by hosting No. 5 Lehman College today at the CSI Tennis Center at 4pm. CSI finished 4-3 inside of conference play and were able to defeat Lehman during the regular season by a 6-3 count.
CSI vs. LEHMAN COLLEGE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (6-8 Overall, 4-3 CUNYAC) vs. Lehman College (5-10 Overall, 3-4 CUNYAC)
Where: CSI Tennis Center – 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY
First Serve: 4:00 pm
This Year’s Result: CSI won 6-3
Players to Watch (CSI): The Dolphins will be looking for veterans Chris Pinto and Andrew Adia to guide them near the top of the lineup alongside newcomer Matthew Vesci, who has been playing very well at the No. 3 position. Vesci leads all Dolphins with an 8-4 overall record in singles, and backs it up with a 6-5 doubles mark with three different partners. Adia is 6-6 in Singles play, but is 4-2 at the No. 2 position, where he is expected to start today.
Players to Watch (LC): Gene Nakagaki leads the way in singles for Lehman with a solid 9-3 overall mark which includes a 5-1 mark within the CUNYAC. Jason Strudwick at the top of the table has also been good this season and Al Joseph Dubouzet is boasting a 4-2 record at the No. 4 position this season. Strudwick has teamed with Carlo Francisco to record a 4-2 overall mark at No. 1 doubles, making them a tough duo to contest today if they are paired.
News and Notes: CSI was able to take the very well contested regular season meeting between the two sides, but the Dolphins are a bit short-handed today than they were when the two teams met nearly three weeks ago. On April 11, No .1 Singles player for CSI, Chris Livoti, scored a win in singles play and now out of the lineup the reshuffled order could mean a better balance favorable to Lehman, who were also without Carlo Francisco during the regular season meeting. Despite their 5-10 overall record, the Lightning have finished stronger down the stretch, winning five of their final 9 matches. CSI has history on their side on this one, having taken 10 straight against Lehman College dating back to the 2008 season. That run includes two postseason meetings as part of quarterfinal play with both matches played at CSI. This is one of two quarterfinal matches that are being played today around the CUNYAC. Top-seeded Hunter College earned a first round bye, meanwhile No. 2 Baruch College is hosting No. 7 York College at 10:00am at York College. No. 3 John Jay College already scored a 5-1 win over No. 6 Brooklyn College on Wednesday. The winner of this match will face top-seeded Hunter on Sunday at 1pm in a match played at Queens College on Sunday. The two semifinal winners meet for the CUNYAC Championship held at CSI on May 5 at 3pm.
