UTICA, N.Y. (April 20, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team split a pair of matches at No. 9 Middlebury College (L, 7-2) and Empire 8 Conference foe Utica College (W, 9-0) on Saturday.


Middlebury 7, Stevens 2 - Box score

The Ducks started the day bright and early with a 9 a.m. match in Vermont against the No. 9  team in the nation in Middlebury.  The Ducks picked up points at second doubles and first singles in a match that was much closer than the final score indicated, with Stevens competing in both doubles losses (8-4) and taking three singles matches into a third set, although the Panthers did rest some regular ahead of an afternoon match vs. No. 5 Williams College.

Middlebury improves to 15-1 on the season while Stevens drops to 9-7, with all seven losses coming to nationally ranked programs. 

The Ducks' first doubles pairing of freshman Matthew Heinrich (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and senior Chris Rosensteel (East Windsor, N.J.), the No. 3-ranked duo in the Northeast region, quickly found themselves down a break, but the second doubles team of freshman Ben Foran (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) and senior Shota Tasaki (Greenwich, Conn.) went up by a pair of breaks while freshman Tyler Tisdale (Grapevine, Texas) and junior Derek Smith (Boise, Idaho) also fell behind by a break at threes.

Tasaki and Foran quickly locked up the victory at twos, 8-6, but Middlebury matched with the 8-4 win at third doubles.  The Panthers then broke serve again at first doubles and took the match, 8-4, to go up 2-1 heading into singles play.

With four indoor courts available, first-through-fourth singles trotted out to get things back underway.  Heinrich and Rosensteel quickly fell behind by a break at first and second singles, respectively, while Tasaki and Foran each went up a break at third and fourth singles before Foran was brought back on serve and beaten out for the first set.  Rosensteel would fall first, losing 6-0, 6-3 at #2 as the Panthers took the 3-1 match lead, while Foran was brought back on serve before dropping his first set.  Tasaki, meanwhile, fell behind by a break but came back to force and win the tiebreaker to take the first set at third singles, and Heinrich, down a set and 4-1 in the second, rallied to go up a break and took the set, 6-4. 

Tasaki fell behind by a break early and dropped the second set at third singles, 6-2, while Foran kept on serve through the first eight games and finally got a break to take the second set, 6-4.  Heinrich immediately went up a break in the third set at #1 while Foran stayed on serve early, but Tisdale was quickly swept, 6-0, 6-0 at fifth singles.  Foran then had his serve broken at 3-4 and went on to lose the set (6-3) and match, giving Middlebury the clinching fifth victory. 

With the match decided, the Panthers rolled on to victory as Tsaki gave in, 6-3, in the third set and Smith was beaten at sixth singles to give Middlebury the 8-1 victory.  Heinrich was credited with a victory as his opponent at #1 retired with the third set still knotted at 4-4, making the final score 7-2.


Stevens 9, Utica 0 - Box score

The Ducks wasted no time once they stepped of the bus in Utica, quickly sweeping the doubles and taking all six eight-game pro sets in just over an hour.

Stevens picks up its 10th win of the spring and is now 10-7 overall with a perfect 5-0 ledger in Empire 8 play, while Utica drops to 3-4 (0-4).

Rosensteel and Heinrich quickly dispatched their opponents at first doubles, 8-1, while Tasaki and senior Brian Liebeskind (Basking Ridge, N.J.) swept third doubles, 8-0.  Tisdale and Smith faced a bit more opposition at twos, but still pulled out a comfortable 8-3 win.

The Ducks swept first-through-fourth singles by identicl 8-0 scores, with Heinrich, Rosensteel, Tasaki and Tisdale picking up the respective victories.  Sophomores Daniel Szwarc (Metuchen, N.J.) and Spencer Lin (Princeton, N.J.) saw their first action of the spring and both won at fifth (8-1) and sixth (8-2) singles, respectively.

Head Coach Steve Gachko and the Ducks will take on Hartwick College (0-6) tomorrow, Sunday, April 21 at 12 p.m. before hosting their final match against a ranked opponent this regular season in undefeated The College of New Jersey (13-0) on Wednesday, April 24 at 3 p.m.