SALISBURY,
Md. – It was a full day of play for the Salisbury
University men's and women's tennis teams, but the time
on the court was certainly worthwhile as the No. 21-ranked
men's team upset No. 13-ranked Kalamazoo College and both
teams came away with Capital Athletic Conference victories.
Before the
day began, head coach Randy
Halfpap was recognized for his 100th career coaching
victory by Dr. Michael Vienna, Director of Athletics at
Salisbury University. Halfpap, an alumnus of SU, is currently in
his 11th year at the helm of the Salisbury tennis program.
On the
men's side (7-4, 2-0 CAC), all three Sea Gull doubles teams
swept the Hornets. The No. 1 duo consisting of
seniors Scott
Burtzlaff (Clarksville, Md.) and Evan Thomas
(Salisbury, Md.), the 11th-ranked doubles
team in the country, won their match decidedly as they came away
with an 8-2 victory. The No. 3 team of junior David
Lupinetti (Walkersville, Md.) and
senior Marcus
Robinson (Cambridge, Md.) also captured a solid
victory, defeating Kalamazoo 8-5 in their match. The No. 2
team's match was a true fight to the finish as
sophomore Daniel
Barnas (La Plata, Md.) and junior Andrew Nottage (Huntingtown,
Md.) battled in the last set to
eventually take the 9-7 victory.
The
success continued for Barnas in singles play, as he took the No. 4
match from Kalamazoo's Mark Denenfeld in three sets (7-6,
3-6, 6-3). Thomas, who played in the No. 3 spot, took the match in
just two sets (7-5, 6-4) to give the Sea Gulls the 5-4 overall
victory.
After the
mens' matches against the Hornets, which were played in the
SU Indoor Tennis Center, play moved to the outside courts as both
the men and women squared off against CAC opponent St. Mary's
(Md.) College. Both teams came away with solid victories, with the
men defeating the Seahawks 7-2 and the women winning 8-1. The
victory for the women brings their record to a perfect 8-0, 2-0
CAC.
The women
will hit the court once again tomorrow for a day of conference
action, first hosting CAC opponent Hood College at 1 p.m. followed
by a contest against CAC foe Stevenson University at 3:30 p.m. The
men will also play Hood and Stevenson tomorrow, scheduled for the
same times as the women, but first face off against Christopher
Newport University at 10 a.m.