April 9, 2006

MONROEVILLE, Pa. - The 2006 Atlantic 10 Conference Championships ended today for the St. Bonaventure men's tennis team, as they were defeated by second seeded Xavier, 4-2, at the Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa. With the loss, the Bonnies finished the tournament in sixth place.

Once again, the Bonnies were able to earn the doubles point by winning two of three matches. Junior standout Alejandro Nery and his partner, freshman Jonathan Luce, were 8-5 winners in No. 2 doubles, and the all-freshman pair of Leo Mochizuki and Victor Lecina won in the No. 3 spot, 8-4.

The Bonnies ultimately lost the match in singles, as they were only able to come away with one victory through five matches. Nery defeated Jeremy Miller of Xavier in the No. 1 singles spot 7-6 (5), 6-3, which was the only win in singles for the Bonnies.

The Bonnies downfall in singles began with junior Andrew Hart losing to Doug Matthews, 6-0, 6-2, in the No. 3 spot, then junior Dejan Stankovic, dropped his match in No. 4 singles to Ra'ees Ismail, 6-2, 6-3. In No. 5 singles, Lecina fell to Rob Simpson, 6-2, 6-4, and Luce lost a heartbreaker to Mike Dieciuc in the No. 6 slot, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1. Because Xavier had already earned four points in singles to clinch a victory, Mochizuki's No. 2 singles match against Oliver Marinkovic was not completed.

All six starters will be back next season, as the team will not lose any players to graduation.