Feb. 19, 2011

Tenafly, N.J. - Still searching for its first win of the season, the Fordham men's tennis traveled to Tenafly, New Jersey, for a match against St. Thomas Aquinas College, where the Rams broke through with a 9-0 win at the Tenafly Racquets Club.

"I know our record hasn't shown how much we have improved this year, mainly because we have played some very tough competition against nationally ranked teams and NCAA tournament teams," said head coach Cory Hubbard. "I added these matches so our guys could learn and see what it takes to compete at that level. Each match we have gotten better and learned different lessons about momentum, keeping the energy level high regardless of the score, and trying to have a presence on the court. Tonight was our chance to put it all together and our guys did that."

Playing by Division II rules, where all matches are worth a point, the opened up a 3-0 lead by sweeping the doubles matches. Fordham's Dan Kane-West and Alex DeRienzo opened with an 8-2 win at third doubles, followed by an 8-3 win by Austin Shoup and Ken Fukumoto at first doubles. Nick Kelly and Eli Plangger wrapped up the doubles sweep with an 8-4 win at second doubles.

In singles play, Fordham took all six matches in straight sets. Plangger was the opening win at sixth singles over Alex Privalov by a 6-0, 6-1 score, with Kevin Maloney following with a 6-0,6-2, win at fifth singles over Prince Silva.

Shoup continued the Rams' run with a 6-3, 6-2, win at second singles over Armando Estevez, while Kane-West was a 6-4, 6-2 winner at fourth singles against Lukshya Keshwani. Fukumoto (6-1, 7-5) and DeRienzo (7-5, 6-2) completed the win with match victories at fourth and first singles, respectively.

"Last year we beat St Thomas 5-4, and this year we came in and swept every match without losing a set. I have been telling our guys how much better they are getting and hopefully this result shows it. I am very proud of how ready our guys were to play tonight. We clearly played with more emotion and set the tone," said Hubbard.

The Fordham men's tennis team is now off two weeks, and will next be in action on March 4th, as they meet St. John's for a noon match on Friday, March 4th, at the U.S. National Tennis Center.

Fordham vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
February 19, 2011

Singles
1. Alex DeRienzo (F) def. Antoine Venard, 7-5, 6-2
2. Austin Shoup (F) def. Armando Estevez, 6-3, 6-2
3. Dan Kane-West (F) def. Lukshya Keshwani, 6-4, 6-2
4. Ken Fukomoto (F) def. Nick Cittadino, 6-1, 7-5
5. Kevin Maloney (F) def. Prince Silva, 6-0, 6-2
6. Eli Plangger (F) def. Alex Privalov, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles (Division II rules)
1. Shoup/Fukomoto (F) def. Cittadino/Estevez, 8-3
2. Nick Kelly /Plangger (F) def. Venard/Keshwani, 8-4
3. Kane-West/DeRienzo (F) def. Paul Schuman/Silva, 8-2