The College of Staten Island men’s tennis team has an eight-match win streak going, and they have their biggest test of the season in front of them, as they will face off against CUNYAC-rivals Baruch College with the CUNYAC Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Tournament hanging in the balance. Today marks the CUNYAC finale for both teams, and the winner will finish perfect in CUNYAC play this season, heading into postseason play.
CSI vs. BARUCH COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (8-1, 5-0 CUNYAC) vs. Baruch College (7-4, 5-0 CUNYAC)
Where: CSI Tennis Center – 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY
All-Time Series: Baruch leads, 23-17
Last Meeting: March 30, 2018 – Baruch won 7-2
Players to Watch (CSI): CSI continues to be led by Alex Tsui, who is 8-1 in Singles play, most of it at the No. 4 position, where he is 6-0 this season. He will be honored today as part of Senior Day at CSI. He will be joined by Raymond Hwang, who comes in at 6-2 in Singles play this season, a mark that includes a 4-1 record at No. 3, and by Matthew Vesci, who enters play today with a 5-4 record overall in Singles, a mark that includes a 3-0 record in the No. 1 spot. Vesci has paired all season in Doubles with Tao Lin and the duo has been strong, collecting an 8-1 record overall, all at No. 2. The top tandem of Ivi Selenica and Alex Tsui has also been terrific, boasting a mark of 7-1 all at the No. 1 position.
Players to Watch (BC): Baruch is being led by the perfect Singles play of Jeremy Berman, as he is 7-0 this season, a majority of the time playing at No. 5, where he is 5-0. Abhinav Srivastava has been the mainstay at No. 1 and has been tremendous, boasting an 8-2 record. He is joined by the strong play of Michael Dozortsev, who is 7-2 as a Singles players, mostly at Nos. 3-4. Srivastava has been teaming with Leonard Margolis to put up an 8-2 mark as a Doubles team, a record of 7-2 coming at the top spot where they are 5-0 in the CUNYAC. Clement Lacoudre and Michael Dozortsev have been pairing up a great deal as well and they are 5-4 this season, a majority of time at the No. slot.
News & Notes: This has been a very good series over the years, with Baruch holding a 23-17 all-time advantage. In recent years, however, it has been all Baruch, as they have won the last 12 meetings in the series dating all the way back to 2010. Over that stretch, Baruich has enjoyed play on Staten Island, where they have won the last five meetings. The all-time series in Staten Island is tied at 10-10. The winner of this match will win the CUNYAC Regular Season title and be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming postseason tournament. The top six teams make the tournament, with the top two schools earning a first round bye. Staten Island and Baruch have already accomplished that and have already punched their ticket to the semifinal round that will start on April 28 at the National Tennis Center.
