Men’s tennis sweeps John Jay at home

The Baruch men’s tennis team triumphed over John Jay College, 9-0, in a CUNYAC contest on Tuesday afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center in Flushing Meadow, New York. This win concludes the CUNYAC regular season and keeps the team undefeated 7-0.

Artem Gormachevskiy, who has been called the best singles player on the team by captain and senior Stephan Muller and junior Chris Jenkins, was absent. Nevertheless, the team managed to pull through spectacularly.

Guy Goren really stepped up and proved how solid we all are at our positions,” said Muller. “We played them last year and it was a bit closer than it was on Tuesday, particularly because they’ve lost a couple of players and we’ve gained a few.” Jenkins defeated Andreas Pantaloukas in singles 6-1, 6-3. “Even though we were aware that the match was important as it was to decide which team would become the 2012 CUNYAC regular season champions, we were pretty sure that we were not going to be faced with any difficulties,” said Jenkins. In doubles matches, Jenkins and Muller faced Pantaloukas and Rodriguez and won 8-2. Guy Goren and Phillip Bleustein faced Cakmak and Walz and won 8-5. Finally, Jasper Cunneen and Joe Laskowski faced Chirinos and Demek and won 8-1.

On Saturday, April 21 the Baruch men’s tennis team faced off against Farmingdale State men’s tennis team in Long Island. “I’ve been following their results closely and they’ve performed very well this season,” said Muller. “I think it will be a close match that will be hard to predict. We’re very evenly matched at all positions.”

This weekend the players remembered their friend Lukas Bircic who passed away last year. “This Saturday, April 21st would have been the 23rd birthday of our dearly missed friend and teammate Lukas Bircic, so on behalf of the team we would like to dedicate the match against Farmingdale to Luka and his family back in Croatia, said Jenkins.” The Baruch men’s tennis team will go on to the CUNYAC Tournament at the U.S. National Tennis Center. The Quarterfinal match will be played on Wednesday, April 25.

 “We are as prepared as we can be going into the tournament next week and so long as the lads keep their heads up and are able to block out any distractions that may arise on that day, we will do what we were supposed to do and failed to do last year and bring home the trophy,” said Jenkins.  “The boys and I have been waiting since our loss in the finals last year to show everyone what we’re all about,” said Muller. “We’ve practiced hard, played and won a lot of matches, and we’re 100 percent ready to give it our all.”

This season will be Muller’s last with the men’s tennis team. “Tennis is my biggest passion in life so to move on from college athletics will be difficult,” said Muller. “I have one semester left after the season ends and I’ll be looking to get a job in the city because I absolutely love this place. I hope to stay involved with the tennis team in one way or another, but how exactly I’m not quite sure. And finally, I’m hoping to remain a competitive player, and play some tournaments around town.”

If the Bearcats win next Wednesday then they will play the semifinal game on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. The Final will be played on Thursday, May 3rd.