March 25, 2004

The Men's Tennis Team lost its season opener yesterday afternoon, 9-0, to Roger Williams. The Gulls were competitive in doubles. The 1st doubles team of Jon Matthews and Brian Goldmeier were in contention throughout their match, before losing 7-9.

Kealan Rooney and Umut Akdag at 3rd doubles were also competitive. They ended up losing by a score of 5-8. Rooney also fared well in an abbreviated 6th singles match. After winning the first set, 6-1, Rooney suffered an ankle injury early in the 2nd set and had to retire from the match.

"It's hard to find a silver lining when you get shut out," said Coach Herlihy. "In some of the matches, we simply got outplayed or beat ourselves with double faults and other unforced errors. I'm not too surprised with the result today. Of the six guys who played today, three of them -- Akdag, Rooney, and Kieran Parisi -- are first-year players who were making their collegiate debuts. They're still developing."