Acorn

Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Joanna Whitney Alex Belfiore ('11) swings his racquet at an upcoming tennis ball. He is 7-6 in singles play and 5-8 in doubles competition.

The Drew University men's tennis team added two more wins to stretch its undefeated streak in conference play to 61. After cruising to an 8-1 win over Susquehanna University on Sunday, the Rangers swept the United States Merchant Marine Academy 9-0 on Tuesday to improve to 5-0 in the Landmark Conference this season.

Jason Woods ('08) blanked Susquehanna's Todd Adams ('08) in singles play 6-0 in straight sets. Jon Pivor ('08) also cruised to an easy win over William Mellor ('11), sweeping the first set and surrendering just two games in the second. Alex Belfiore ('11) remained undefeated in conference singles play by defeating Matt Mitchell ('09) in straight sets, 6-0 and 6-4. Jon Pransky ('11), Sayed Saber ('09) and Victor Kolarov ('10) also won their matches respectively for the Rangers.

After cruising to an easy 8-1 win over Susquehanna, the Rangers traveled to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in hopes of continuing its momentum.

The Rangers started off hot in singles play, stepping up for the injured Vik Rao ('08) and winning every match. However, the team was even more impressive in doubles competition. The pairing of Woods and Pivor scored a perfect 8-0 victory in the first doubles match of the day after each winning their singles competitions in straight sets.

The chemistry within the new pairing of Belfiore and Nick Imbo ('11) signified a bright future, as the two strolled to an 8-2 win.

With the win, the Rangers clinched a spot in the Landmark Conference playoffs.

"We had two solid conference wins this past week," Imbo said. "We're looking to finish the season undefeated in the conference."

After devastating its Landmark competition, the Rangers hosted New York University on Wednesday. NYU, a non-conference team, posed a serious threat.

NYU nearly swept the Rangers in singles play. However, Kolarov, the last Ranger to compete, won in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-4 over Matthew Gross ('11) to prevent the sweep.

"NYU has a pretty good team so I am really happy that I won my match," Kolarov said. "I think all of the guys played well, though. Although the score was 8-1, all the matches were really close and I think the whole team played well overall."

The Rangers put up a fight in doubles play, but NYU proved too difficult to overcome. NYU's pairing of Mikhail Gurevich ('08) and Brett Levin ('09) downed Drew's top tandem of Pivor and Rao 8-3 in the opening bout.

Although Woods and Belfiore put up a fight in the second match, Gross and Calvin Chou ('09) gave NYU another win, 8-5.

NYU then completed its sweep of the Rangers in doubles competition when Phillip Rosenstein ('11) and Mike Greene ('11) knocked off Kolarov and Saber 8-3. "At this point in the season, I am very impressed at the way the team has progressed since the fall," Imbo said. "Our level of play is very high right now."  

The Rangers will travel to Moravian University on Saturday as they look to sharpen their skills before postseason play.

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