The College of Staten Island men’s tennis team had over a week of inactivity, but now they are playing for the second time in as many days, taking on Lehman College for a 3pm showdown at the CSI Tennis Center. CSI, already guaranteed a first-round tournament bye come the postseason, are chasing a regular season title, and are looking to extend their perfect record in conference play and their season-long seven-game winning streak.
CSI vs. LEHMAN COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (7-1, 4-0 CUNYAC) vs. Lehman College (1-8, 1-4 CUNYAC)
Where: CSI Tennis Center – 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY
All-Time Series: CSI leads, 27-6
Last Meeting: April 5, 2018 – CSI won 6-3
Players to Watch (CSI): CSI is riding a seven-match win streak, and so is senior Alex Tsui, who enters today with a 7-1 record in Singles, a mark that includes a 6-0 record in his natural No. 4 position. Raymond Hwang suffered a loss yesterday in three sets and will be looking bounce back today as he takes a 6-2 Singles record into the afternoon. Lesly DeCastro has now won three-straight matches and is 5-2 overall in Singles. He has played a majority of his matches at No. 5, where he is 3-1 this season. Matthew Kotlyar played yesterday and is now 4-1 in Singles play. Look for the No. 3 team of Hwang and DeCastro to stay hot in No.3 Doubles. They have won their last five matches as a team.
Players to Watch (LC): Lehman is being led by Miguel Haboosh, who has won twice in Singles play this season, both in the No. 2 position behind No. 1 player Michael Forte. Chris Mulholland has also seen quality time in the No. 1 position, and has played as far down as No. 4 as well.. Arman Herrera and Anton Kyrylenko both picked up their first wins in Singles recently and will look to keep advancing if they are in the lineup today.
News & Notes: CSI has had a lot of success against Lehman, having won 27 of the 33 all-time matches between the two sides since the rivalry began in 1979. Most recently, CSI has won 12 of the last 13 meetings since 2009. The one loss actually came in the Postseason Tournament, a 5-2 Lehman win in quarterfinal play in 2016. The top six teams make the CUNYAC Tournament. The top two seeds receive a bye and CSI has locked that up along with Baruch College. As for Lehman, they have clinched a playoff spot, and can finish either fifth or sixth. On paper, CSI would seemingly be the favorite in this one. They hold a 15-4 all-time record against Lehman at home as well. Lehman comes in with a record of 1-8, but they recently overturned their eight-match losing streak with a win over York College, 7-2, on Saturday. Today’s match is a make-up from last week’s postponement.
