Cards obliterate Oswego in last home game of season
By Dan Glickman
Last Updated:7:17 PM EST 4/22/09 Section: Sports
It was Senior Day for the St. John Fisher men's tennis team on Saturday, but all classes contributed as the Cardinals shut out SUNY Oswego 9-0.
The Cardinals improved their record to 6-12 with only one match left in the season, next Sunday at Utica. Oswego's Lakers fell to a 0-2 record, and were, by Coach Darren Wynne's admission, at a disadvantage in the game.
"We probably weren't even on the court until about mid-March," Wynne said. "I think [Fisher] probably played a few matches by then. And we only played two or three days a week, until about maybe this match, because we don't have a indoor court [at Oswego] and it's cold outside."
The Cardinals were able to take advantage of Oswego's lack of preperation right from the start, winning all three official doubles matches.
The senior duo of Mike O'Connor and Karl Schiefer won the last doubles match they would ever play on Fisher's courts, demolishing the Oswego side 8-1.
The team of Jack Forrest (also a senior) and Jake Van Buren as well as John Whelehan and Chris Maley also picked up victories.
The first singles match between Fisher junior Matt Aquino and Oswego's Emmanuel "Manny" Ezenwa was a nail biter. Although Aquino won 7-6, 6-2, the visitor from Oswego put up a hard battle and forced a tiebreaker in the first set. When it was over, head coach Linda Gohagan told Aquino that he was going to get the "game ball".
Ezenwa had praise for his opponent.
"He [Aquino] is just a quality player, and when you play against players like this you just need to take opportunities whenever you get and use them," said the Oswego senior.
Sadly for Fisher, no matter what happens the best that they can hope for is fifth in the E8, short of Gohagan's pre-season goal of reaching the E8's final four.
"We fell a little short on some of our goals," Gohagan said. "We wanted to make the Empire 8 Final Four but we came in fifth place."
However, Gohagan also saw some positives.
"We played a good season. Even though we don't have a winning record the guys played really well against tough schools. We played better than our record indicates."
For the seniors, though, it was a time to reflect on their years playing Fisher tennis. Mike O'Connor summed up the opinions of most of the seniors.
"We've had a great group of guys the whole four years. [We have] four seniors on the team. We have a lot of good relationships and a lot of fun together.
The Cardinals improved their record to 6-12 with only one match left in the season, next Sunday at Utica. Oswego's Lakers fell to a 0-2 record, and were, by Coach Darren Wynne's admission, at a disadvantage in the game.
"We probably weren't even on the court until about mid-March," Wynne said. "I think [Fisher] probably played a few matches by then. And we only played two or three days a week, until about maybe this match, because we don't have a indoor court [at Oswego] and it's cold outside."
The Cardinals were able to take advantage of Oswego's lack of preperation right from the start, winning all three official doubles matches.
The senior duo of Mike O'Connor and Karl Schiefer won the last doubles match they would ever play on Fisher's courts, demolishing the Oswego side 8-1.
The team of Jack Forrest (also a senior) and Jake Van Buren as well as John Whelehan and Chris Maley also picked up victories.
The first singles match between Fisher junior Matt Aquino and Oswego's Emmanuel "Manny" Ezenwa was a nail biter. Although Aquino won 7-6, 6-2, the visitor from Oswego put up a hard battle and forced a tiebreaker in the first set. When it was over, head coach Linda Gohagan told Aquino that he was going to get the "game ball".
Ezenwa had praise for his opponent.
"He [Aquino] is just a quality player, and when you play against players like this you just need to take opportunities whenever you get and use them," said the Oswego senior.
Sadly for Fisher, no matter what happens the best that they can hope for is fifth in the E8, short of Gohagan's pre-season goal of reaching the E8's final four.
"We fell a little short on some of our goals," Gohagan said. "We wanted to make the Empire 8 Final Four but we came in fifth place."
However, Gohagan also saw some positives.
"We played a good season. Even though we don't have a winning record the guys played really well against tough schools. We played better than our record indicates."
For the seniors, though, it was a time to reflect on their years playing Fisher tennis. Mike O'Connor summed up the opinions of most of the seniors.
"We've had a great group of guys the whole four years. [We have] four seniors on the team. We have a lot of good relationships and a lot of fun together.
Be the first to comment on this story