The Colgate men’s tennis team had an eventful weekend, during which they faced off against Bucknell and Boston University. At the weekend’s conclusion, the team had notched a win and suffered a loss, moving their overall record to 10-7.

On Saturday, April 15, the Raiders hosted Bucknell University at the Turning Stone Sportsplex and earned a hard-fought victory. Colgate went two-for-three in doubles matches, ultimately winning the doubles point. The doubles team of junior Jacob Daugherty and senior Jake Hirschberg won the number-one seed doubles by a score of 6-2. Additionally, senior Bobby Alter, and sophomore Noah Rosenblat battled for a 7-6 victory in the number-two spot to secure the doubles point.

Daugherty succeeded coming out on top of his singles match, snagging 6-1 and 6-2 set victories in the first singles spot. Alter also clinched a win in singles play, winning his sets with scores of 6-4 and 7-6 for Colgate’s number-two seed. Senior Win Reynolds secured the match for the Raiders by winning his matchup at fifth singles. Reynolds suffered a loss in his first set, but fought to net 6-2, 6-1 victories in the second and third sets to win the match. The Raiders ultimately defeated the Bison 4-3, leaving them with a 10-6 overall record and a 3-1 record in the Patriot League. Following the match, the team honored seniors Alter, Hirschberg, Reynolds and Dean Koman for their last home game and Senior Day.  

“That was an unreal senior day for the boys! Numbers never lie. The seniors dual match record is 48 and 27 the last four years, four straight winning seasons and five wins in a row,” head coach Bobby Pennington said after the match.

On Sunday, April 16, the Raiders traveled to Boston, Massachusetts to take on Boston University for a Patriot League match, but were handed a close 4-2 loss. The Raiders succeeded in doubles, collecting the point when the duo of Daugherty and Hirschberg netted a 6-2 victory in the number-one seed doubles match. Additionally, Reynolds earned a 6-4 win in the number-two spot for singles. Daugherty also clinched a victory as the number-one seed in singles when he defeated Lucas Bombonatti 7-2, 6-2. Colgate fought hard throughout the duration of the contest as Reynolds, Rosenblat and sophomore Alec Dardis all played to three sets before falling to the Terriers. With this loss, the Raiders’ record shifted to 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League.

“Brutal loss for the men today. There were very challenging outdoor conditions on the back of the Harvard complex, but certainly not an excuse. Dardis, Reynolds and Rosenblat were all battling in third sets. The match came down to a point or two,” Pennington said following the second match.

The Raiders will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Tuesday to take on Marist College and hopefully capture a win in their final match of the regular season.

This upcoming weekend, the men will hit the road again, traveling to Annapolis, MD to compete in the Patriot League tournament. The men have secured the fifth seed for the tournament, and will square off against Boston University, a recent and familiar opponent for the Raiders.