HAVERFORD, Pa. (March 5, 2008) – Freshman Zhi Wei Ko finished the day 2-0 as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team suffered a 6-3 loss to Haverford College on Wednesday in Haverford, Pa. Ko teamed up with freshman Jay Lee for an 8-5 victory at second doubles before posting a 6-0, 6-3 win at first singles for the Ducks (1-3).
At No. 1 doubles, senior Ricky Bawa and sophomore Piotr Rusinkiewicz lost to juniors Thomas Kinrade (Hillsborough, N.J.) and Evan Stiegel (Sewickley, Pa.) by the score of 8-5. Ko and Lee defeated junior Stephen Feder (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) and Marc Rudolph. Freshmen Jason Ringstad and Carlo Pardo posted an 8-5 win against juniors Dave Merrell (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Jeff Monhait (Wilmington, Del.) in the third-doubles position.
Ko led off first singles with his straight-sets win over Kinrade. The Fords (1-0) went on to capture the next five singles matches to secure the victory. Stiegel topped Rusinkiewicz 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. Bawa fell to Feder 6-2, 6-3 at third singles. Ringstad also lost in two sets (6-3, 6-2) against Rudolph at No. 4. Senior Marc Adelberg (Devon, Pa.) lost the first set but rallied to defeat Lee by the score of 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-1). Pardo came up short in his match against freshman Hailiu Yang (Potomac, Md.) at No. 6 singles. Yang won in straight-sets (6-2, 6-1).
Stevens will have nearly two weeks off before it returns to the court to play four matches in Orlando, Fla. The Ducks' next match will be against Carthage College on March 16 at 8 a.m. Stevens will also play the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Connecticut College, and Tufts University in Florida.