The College of Staten Island men’s tennis team made it two-for-two this weekend, and notched their sixth win in a row, taking down non-conference foe Rutgers-Newark, 6-1, in a match played Saturday afternoon in Newark, NJ. CSI extended its record to 11-4, while the Scarlet Raiders fell to 2-6.
Going against the elements, both teams battled the wind and rainy conditions to make sure the match went official. Two singles flights were suspended due to the rain, but not before CSI had secured the victory.
CSI got off to a nice start as part of doubles play, where they were able to win two out of three matches to take a 2-1 lead. Daniel Ursomanno teamed with Nick Zikos in the No. 2 position to score an 8-0 knockout over Elijah Kim and William Cheung, and moments later, Bobby Hargraves went side-by-side with Gary Ambartsumov to score an 8-2 win in the No. 3 position. Rutgers won their only doubles flight at No. 1, as the team of Raymond Postadan and Kevin Santos defeated Joseph Taranto and Masaru Takaki.
When play turned to singles, the clouds began to creep in; threatening the match, but CSI was able to pull off a couple of quick singles wins to insure victory. Taranto (No. 3) and Hargraves (No. 6) both scored identical, 6-1, 6-0, winners on their courts, and moments later, Ursomanno (No. 5) capped a 6-1, 6-2, win as well, clinching the match. Zikos was able to get passed Postadan in the top-spot 6-4, 6-4.
Kevin Santos and Takaki were dead-locked 5-5 in the first set when play was suspended. Ambartsumov’s No. 4 flight was also waived off.
Weather permitting; CSI will host New York City College of Technology on Sunday at 1pm.
