Ricky Bawa went 3-0 at No. 1 singles during the 2006 Flower City Tournament.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (September 18, 2006) – Junior Ricky Bawa (Lyndhurst, N.J.) went 3-0 at No. 1 singles as the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s tennis team opened the 2006-07 season with a sixth-place finish out of eight teams over the weekend at the Flower City Tournament hosted by the University of Rochester and Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.  The Ducks finished the two-day tournament with a 1-2 record.

On Saturday, Stevens suffered an 8-1 loss to SUNY Oneonta at Nazareth.  Bawa picked up the lone win for the Ducks as he rallied after losing the first set to claim a 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over senior Eric Bratt (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.).  In doubles action, junior Arjun Mehta (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Kobe Attias (Brick, N.J.) lost a tough 8-4 decision to junior Shane Raymo (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) and freshman Matt Steinhauser (Plainview, N.Y.).

In the second match of the day, Stevens captured two of three doubles flights en route to a 5-4 victory over Nazareth.  At first doubles, Bawa teamed with freshman Piotr Rusinkiewicz (Califon, N.J.) to claim an 8-1 win over juniors Jon Weaver (Victor, N.Y.) and Terrance Nichols (Syracuse, N.Y.).  Senior Boris Kocherov (Edison, N.J.) and sophomore Joseph McKinney (Woodbridge, Va.) added an 8-4 victory over junior Jerry Stocker (Cassville, N.Y.) and freshman Alex Bodensieck (Glenville, N.Y.) at No. 3 doubles.

In singles action, Bawa cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Weaver in the first flight.  Mehta earned a straight-set victory (6-1, 6-3) over Stocker.  Attias defeated Bodensieck by the score of 6-1, 6-2.  At No. 2 singles, Rusinkiewicz dropped a tough three-set decision (7-5, 2-6, 6-10) to sophomore Greg Bohneberg (Lockport, N.Y.).  McKinney also lost in three sets (6-7 [5-7], 6-0, 8-10) to freshman Steve Trobert (Jamesville, N.Y.).

Stevens closed out the tournament on Sunday with a 5-3 loss to Hobart College at Irondequoit Country Club.  Bawa continued his winning ways with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over sophomore James Micheroni (Sharon, Mass.) at No. 1 singles.  Freshman Russ Suereth (Hewitt, N.J.) earned his first collegiate victory with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over sophomore Parker Pedersen (Lake Bluff, Ill.).  In first doubles, Bawa teamed with Rusinkiewicz for an 8-2 victory over Micheroni and senior Matt Silver (Weston, Conn.).

The Ducks return to action on Friday, September 29 when they compete at the ITA Northeast Regional Tournament at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.