University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Splits Weekend Matches
4/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
STORRS, Conn. (April 16, 2005) – The University of Connecticut men’s tennis team split a pair of dual matches April 15-16, defeating Monmouth 7-0 on Friday before falling to St. John’s 7-0 on Saturday. The win and loss conclude the regular season and move the Huskies to 6-8 this spring with a 0-4 mark against BIG EAST opponents.
The Huskies easily topped Monmouth, winning all six singles matches in two sets after sweeping through doubles play. Junior Matt Stinson (Orinda, Calif.) defeated Abel Lampa, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1 in what would turn out to be UConn’s toughest match.
Junior Sho Sato (Tokyo, Japan) at No. 2, freshman Christian Malerba (Derby, Conn.) at No. 4, and senior Joe Mercuri (Wallingford, Conn.) at No. 5 won each of their matches by scores of 6-1, 6-0. Senior Sam Sutherland (Tampa, Fla.) defeated Jason Letchko 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3. Freshman Michael Bobitski (Fort Myers, Fla.) concluded singles as he cruised past Rich Price by scores of 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles action, Stinson and Sato topped Lampa and Letchko, 8-3 at No. 1. The duo of Sutherland and Malerba at No. 2 defeated Stanley and Hart, 8-2, while Mercuri and Bobitski rounded out doubles play with a 8-1 win over Price and Craig Sacchetto.
The Huskies then struggled in their BIG EAST Saturday matchup against St. John’s as the Red Storm took the six singles matches and won the doubles point for the 7-0 victory.
Sutherland was the only UConn player to go to three sets, winning the first set at No. 3 6-4 before falling to Nick Stocker in the next two, 6-3, 10-7. Sutherland also battled with his partner Malerba in doubles as the pair was edged by Stocker and Claudio Halim, 9-7 at No. 2.
Connecticut 7, Monmouth 0
Singles
1. Matt Stinson def. Abel Lampa, 6-3, 6-3
2. Sho Sato def. Mitch Stanley, 6-1, 6-0
3. Sam Sutherland def. Jason Letchko, 6-0, 6-1
4. Christian Malerba def. Chris Hart, 6-1, 6-0
5. Joe Mercuri def. Rajesh Gupta, 6-1, 6-0
6. Michael Bobitski def. Rich Price, 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1. Stinson/Sato def. Lampa/Letchko, 8-3
2. Sutherland/Malerba def. Stanley/Hart, 8-2
3. Mercuri/Bobitski def. Price/Sacchetto, 8-1
St. John’s 7, Connecticut 0
Singles
1. David Nylen def. Matt Stinson, 6-4, 6-2
2. Aurelio Di Zazzo def. Sho Sato, 6-4, 6-2
3. Nick Stocker def. Sam Sutherland, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7
4. Claudio Halim def. Christian Malerba, 6-2, 6-0
5. Morgan Bauer def. Joe Mercuri, 6-2, 6-3
6. Boris Chiporukha def. Michael Bobitski, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. Di Zazzo/Lemerioux def. Stinson/Sato, 8-4
2. Stocker/Halim def. Sutherland/Malerba, 9-7
3. Chiporukha/Goldberg def. Mercuri/Bobitski, 8-3
Players Mentioned
