Tennis surprises, falls in A-10 Final

After a stunning semifinal marathon upset over top-seeded George Washington, the men's tennis team settled for second place at the Atlantic 10 Championship in Monroeville, Pa.,falling in the finals to No. 2 Xavier, 4-0, Sunday.The No. 4 Bonnies (11-7) bypassed the opening round with a bye and defeated No. 5 Charlotte, 4-1, in a quarterfinal matchup April 24.

Senior Jonathan Luce led the Brown and White attack, teaming with sophomore Chris Post to defeat Moritz Bernhoerster and Jeff Archer in doubles action, 8-6. Luce also posted a singles victory over Mike Anders in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Sophomore Enric Larregola added a pair of victories, teaming with fellow sophomore Mikhail Sudakov to beat the team of Anders and Mirza Beciragic in doubles action, 8-3. Larregola then defeated Chris Huynh in singles action in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.

The Bonnies again proved victorious in their semifinal match against the No.1 Colonials later in the day, winning 4-3 in an event that took five hours and 30 minutes to complete.

Post led the Brown and White's victory with two wins, teaming with Luce to defeat the team of Ugur Atalay and Richard Blumenfield in doubles action, 8-6. In addition, Post came back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set of a singles match against Yan Levinski to score the win, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, clinching the Bonnies' spot in their first championship match since 2003.

Post's victorious effort left both his fellow teammates amazed.

"It was unbelievable how Chris was able to come back from a 5-2, 0-4, in the third set," senior Leo Mochizuki wrote in an e-mail.

Bates credited Post for preserving the Bonnies' hopes.

"We thought we were going to be out of (the championship match)," coach Michael Bates said. "But Chris Post pulled out a great win for us and kept us in it."

But Post said he viewed the victory over George Washington as a team effort, teaching a valuable lesson in the process.

"It was such an emotional victory for us because of the way it happened," Post wrote in an e-mail. "I think I really showed the guys that no matter the score or what the odds are, to never give up, and keep fighting."

The momentum earned from such a thrilling victory was eliminated less than 24 hours later in a 4-0 defeat against No. 2 Xavier in the championship.

The only Bonnie to win a set was junior Diego Valdenegro, who trailed Ra'ees Ismail in singles action, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0, before play was stopped when the Musketeers clinched their second straight A-10 Championship.

Post was disappointed that the Brown and White's run at a third A-10 Championship ended in such a decisive fashion.

"I would say that we were glad we made it to the finals, but we were disappointed in the outcome of (the match)," Post wrote. "We really wanted to end the season with the A-10 Championship and really thought this was the team that could do it."

For Luce, Mochizuki and Victor Lecina - the three seniors on the team - Sunday's final was the end of a successful collegiate career. In each of the trio's four seasons, the Bonnies were able to improve their finish in the A-10s.

Mochizuki wrote, "(I'm) not completely (satisfied with the runner-up finish), but it helps to know that it has been the best position we have ended at from my four-year career."

Despite the loss, Bates said he was pleased with the way his team played this season.

"(I told them) there's nothing to hang our heads about," Bates said. "We're second in the conference, we beat a lot of other teams, and we're ahead of a lot of other teams in there. We had a great year, and just because we didn't finish where we wanted to finish doesn't mean that we're not successful.