DeWitt, N.Y. – Senior
Hallam Doney (Andover, Hampshire/Peter Symonds) won a winner-take-all match at fifth singles to give the Le Moyne College men's tennis team a 5-4 upset of NYIT, the top-ranked team in the NCAA East Region, on Sunday afternoon at Elevate Fitness.
The Dolphins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the match by sweeping the doubles competition. Juniors
Xavier Graells (Castellar del Vallès, Spain/IES Castellar/Harford Community College) and
Tyler Underwood (Minoa, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa) earned the first point of the day with an 8-2 win at the third spot over Rares Ispas and Kevin Huynh. Sophomore
Philip Blythe (Edinburgh, Scotland/Merchiston) and Doney also were 8-2 winners, defeating Francisco Caldas and Maxton Cook at the first position. Junior
Andres Hernandez (Monterrey, Mexico/Laurel Springs/Texas Rio Grande Valley) and senior
Jason Barton (Lima, Ohio/Shawnee) completed the sweep with an 8-5 win at the second spot over Matej Selecky and Alexandre Martinez.
Le Moyne claimed two of the six matches in the singles competition to complete the upset. The Bears, who dropped to 8-1 on the season, earned their first point of the day as Sergio Fernandez was a 6-1, 6-0 winner at the sixth position over freshman
Christian Erickson (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport). Graells got the Dolphins within a point of the victory by downing Ispas at the third spot, 6-4, 6-1. Caldas pulled NYIT back within two with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win at the second position over Hernandez. Cook then defeated Barton, 7-5, 6-3, at the fourth spot. Selecky, who won the ITA East Region singles title in September, rallied to defeat Blythe at the top position, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, and tie the match at four points apiece. Doney claimed the first set against Martinez, 6-3, but dropped the second set, 3-6, to force a decisive third set. After falling down, 4-3, Doney won the final three games to take the set, 6-4, and give the Dolphins the match.
Le Moyne (10-4), which is eighth in the latest NCAA East Region rankings and won its seventh straight match, closes out its Northeast-10 Conference schedule on Wednesday against Stonehill College at 11:00 a.m. Prior to the match, Barton and Doney will be honored by the Dolphin Athletic Association for their contributions to the program.
