The men's tennis team closed out the 2006-2007 season on Wednesday with a 9-0 shutout victory over Drew University in Madison, N.J., to bring its final regular season record to 11-2 overall.
In doubles competition, the Lions swept three matches. Juniors Michael Klimchak and Roger Mosteller beat Drew University juniors Vikram Rao and Jonathon Pivor by a convincing score of 8-1. The pair is 18-3 this year with a 12-1 dual meet record. The past two seasons they were 21-1 in dual meet action and 33-6 overall. Klimchak was pleased with how he and Mosteller worked as a team throughout the year.
"We played so well with each other throughout the whole season and our only loss came to (Johns) Hopkins, which we didn't play our best but still made it close," Klimchak, who expressed some worry over the loss' effect on playoff qualification, said.
Sophomore Will Daly and freshman Jeremy Eckardt teamed up to post an 8-4 win over Drew seniors Michael Kennedy and Ross Lieblich. At No. 3 doubles, junior Eric Ferriere and sophomore James Vance took a 9-7 victory over the Rangers' No. 3 team, freshman Anthony Tunnero and junior Jason Woods.
The Lions' dominance continued in singles matches with the College winning all six. At first singles, Klimchak beat Tunnero 6-0, 6-1. The win puts Klimchak at 16-4 overall and 56-12 on his career. He is ranked 15th in Division III singles play.
At second singles, Mosteller took down Lieblich 6-1, 6-2 to bring his overall record this season to 11-1. Eckardt took a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles over Woods, and Ferriere defeated Rao 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. Eckardt is 17-4 in singles play and 16-2 at doubles in his first season, while Ferriere wraps up the regular season at 19-3 and 12-1 in dual meet action.
Juniors Sonnie Pollosco and Andrew Cossaboom rounded out the wins for the College, with Pollosco overtaking Tunnero 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles and Cossaboom beating junior Alec Jaslow 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6 singles.
The women's team was unable to compete against Muhlenberg College on Wednesday because of the rain in conjunction with an event occurring in the Recreation Center. The Muhlenberg match was previously canceled on Feb. 25 when a winter ice storm struck the College. Senior Kristen Turturiello was to be honored as the team's lone graduating senior.
Turturiello led the team both on and off the court to capture the NJAC Championship four years in a row. She has helped the Lions reach an impressive 54-9 record over the past four years, leading the team to be the No. 23 team in the nation this year. Boasting All-NJAC honors, NJAC Rookie of the Week, two-time co-Most Valuable Player awards and a spot on the 2004 NJAC All-Stat singles team, Turturiello is a steady player who wears her opponents down both mentally and physically.
The Muhlenberg match will not be rescheduled, ending the women's season. The team stands at 14-2 overall, is ranked No. 23 in Division III and holds a No. 7 ranking in the Northeast Region.
The NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships will begin May 15 at Washington University.
