Colgate University men’s tennis wrapped up their fall season this past weekend at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where two senior captains, Benito Vlassis and Josh Israel, participated in the ITA Patriot League Masters Qualifier tournament. It was the first time that this tournament has been hosted in the fall, with the winners getting an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Individual Championships that run from Nov. 19-24 in Waco, Texas. Vlassis and Israel represented the Raider’s in both singles and doubles play.
The two veterans battled against the best competition that the Patriot League has to offer, with Israel making a dramatic run to the semifinals in singles play. It was the cherry on top to what was already a very solid fall for the Raiders.
“I thought this fall season was very productive for the team as the level of play from my teammates increased more and more after each invite. We ended the fall season with a strong back to back weekend between ITA regionals and the Patriot League masters tournament. We came out with a bunch of great wins and showed good team spirit. I know I am excited to work towards the spring season, and I know the team is hungry for some big things coming in the spring,” Vlassis said.
The season started on Sept. 7 with the Bloomsburg Invitational in Pennsylvania. The Raiders dominated their way through the weekend, putting up a combined record of 27-12 through singles and doubles play. Sophomore Jerome Falcon put up a standout performance, going undefeated in both singles and doubles. Israel, Vlassis and first-year Tim Viding all picked up multiple wins in singles play, and, in doubles, senior captains Ben Graham and Mikey Weitz took down a tough St. Francis duo by a score of 6-4.
“I thought our team had a pretty successful fall with all of the guys on the team competing hard and getting reps. We have a lot of momentum from the fall and I hope to keep it up in the spring. I’m proud of how I competed in the fall only losing one singles and one doubles,” Falcon said.
Falcon and fellow sophomore teammate Parker McGowan would team up in doubles play during the inaugural Colgate Invitational tournament that ran the weekend of Sept. 14-15. The duo matched up against two teams from Hamilton College and beat both of them in a tremendous display of skill and camaraderie.
“I think the team overall is moving in the right direction finishing the fall season with great results from ITAs at Harvard two weekends ago, and [Israel] and [Vlassis] at the Patriot League individual tourney at Army. The upperclassmen have really stepped up in the big moments which has produced nice wins. I think the depth and culture the team has is going to be key to many wins in the spring. Individually I was really happy with [Falcon] and I’s doubles matches and also having good results in singles,” McGowan said.
The two sophomores look to follow up on their strong freshman year campaigns and to be the standard-bearers for Raider tennis in the years to come.
Other highlights from the tournament included juniors Aidan Chung and Aidan Lee defeating their opponents from Niagara and Siena, respectively, in straight sets. The Raiders finished their inaugural tournament with a combined record of 23-16.
The last full-team tournament for the Raiders took place from Oct. 17-19, where the Raiders traveled to Harvard for the ITA Division I Men’s New England regional championships. The tournament saw Colgate take on some of the toughest competition of their season as they matched up against the best players from both the Ivy and Patriot Leagues. The Vlassis-Israel doubles duo made a run to the tournament’s second round where they were ultimately defeated 3-8 by Harvard.
While the spring season is still months away from starting, the Raiders’ performance this fall set a strong tone that leaves fans with a lot to look forward to come late January.
“I think the team is looking really good right now. We returned almost the entire team and everyone came back playing great. All the guys have been working really hard and we just need to keep that same energy going through the offseason all the way to the spring season. I’m super excited to see what we can do in the spring,” Chung said.
Men’s tennis has hit their sweet spot where the team has just the right mix of experienced veterans and young talent to make some noise in the Patriot League. The depth of experience on the coaching side, with veteran head coach Bobby Pennington returning for his 18th season at the helm, is another factor working in the Raiders’ favor. Pennington is the third-winningest head coach in Colgate men’s tennis history, and, if things keep progressing the way they have been, he may find himself in the top two by the end of April.
