Men's Tennis

Men's Tennis Falls to Lakeland in Hilton Head Finale

HILTON HEAD, SC - Hartwick College's men's tennis team won three of six singles matches but the Lakers of Lakeland (IL) still came away with a 6-3 win in the Hawks' final match of their Hilton Head, SC trip Thursday.

After falling behind 3-0 after doubles play, the Hawks got three wins in singles play from sophomore Sean Barr (Scarsdale, NY) and freshmen Marcelo Navarro (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Matt Whitty (St. Catherines, ON).

Barr evened his 2009 record at 2-2 with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 comeback win over Lakeland's Andy Buscher in fourth singles. Navarro won his fourth straight match at second singles with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Josh Patrick. Whitty won his first career match in dramatic fashion with a three-set comeback over Laker Chad Melcher. The scores of Whitty's match were a carbon copy of Barr's win (3-6, 6-3, 10-6).

The Hawks return to Oneonta and waste little time getting back onto the court as they play six matches in eight days. The team opens up Empire 8 Conference play on Apr. 1 as it hosts Elmira College at 4 p.m. The following day, the Hawks are on the road at Cobleskill before they host Alfred and RIT on Apr. 4 and 5.

Singles
1. Punsisi Dayaratne (LKLAND) def. Jeff Boyd (HC) 6-0, 6-4
2. Marcelo Navarro (HC) def. Josh Patrick (LKLAND) 6-3, 6-4
3. Matt Whitty (HC) def. Chad Melcher (LKLAND) 3-6, 6-3, 10-6
4. Sean Barr (HC) def. Andy Buscher (LKLAND) 3-6, 6-3, 10-6
5. Chris Duvall (LKLAND) def. Peter Dumas (HC) 6-3, 6-3
6. Lee Buehnerkemper (LKLAND) def. Michael del Rosario (HC) 6-0, 6-4

Doubles
1. Punsisi Dayaratne/Josh Patrick (LKLAND) def. Jeff Boyd/Marcelo Navarro (HC) 8-1
2. Chris Duvall/Andy Buscher (LKLAND) def. Matt Whitty/Peter Dumas (HC) 8-4
3. Lee Buehnerkemper/Chad Melcher (LKLAND) def. Sean Barr/Michael del Rosario (HC) 8-2