Gators Enjoy Winning Weather on Spring Break

Sunset on the beachSweet Bikes!

Dinner at the Salty Dog.

Putt, Putt!

The team enjoyed some great weather and competition for an entire week down in Hilton Head, S.C. Both teams finished the week posting a 3-1 record, with wins over Nebraska Wesleyan, Bethel College, and University of Sioux Falls.

In addition to playing some great tennis, the team also had fun on the beach, played some putt- putt mini golf, enjoyed great dinners at the Salty Dog and Japanese Steakhouse, and explored the island on their sweet bike cruisers. We also had a lot of Gator parents visiting which was great to have all of their support.

Patrick Cole Earns NCAC Player of the Week!

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Allegheny men's tennis rookie Patrick Cole was named the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the week ending March 27, 2011 as it was announced by the conference's sports information director Bret Billhardt on Monday afternoon.

Only in the second year that the conference has recognized a tennis player of the week, Cole is the first Allegheny tennis player, male or female, to receive the honor. Since stepping foot on campus, Cole has made an immediate impact on the men's tennis program, competing in flight one singles and doubles in all matches so far this spring .

This past week, Cole helped fuel the Gators to a 3-1 record over their spring break trip to Hilton Head Island, S.C. with three singles and doubles victories each. In his three singles wins at flight one, Cole won in straight sets. The only loss for Cole in both singles and doubles over the week came against the ITA Central Region-Ranked no. 11 Carleton College.

In his singles match against Carleton' no. 1 Peter Dunn (regionally-ranked no. 13 singles player), Cole nearly pulled the upset after dropping the first set 3-6, then forcing a 10-point super-breaker set by blanking Dunn in the second set 6-0, but fell short in the super-breaker 11-13. In doubles action against Carleton, Cole and his partner Jacob Allmaras forced a tie-breaking set after pushing the no.17 regionally-ranked doubles combo of Dan Vollman and Paul Cooper to the brink.

Tennis Leaves Hilton Head with Wins over the University of Sioux Falls

3/25/2011

Men's Box Score -- Women's Box Score

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Both the Allegheny men's and women's tennis teams ended their Hilton Head, S.C. Spring Break trip with wins over the University of Sioux Falls on Thursday morning. The Gator men (8-2) topped Sioux Falls 8-1, while the Gator women (7-4) won 7-2. The wins for each program gave them a positive 3-1 win-loss record over spring break.

Both matches began with the traditional doubles-first format, and each team swept the doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead heading into singles play.

On the women's side, senior Sara Longo had the match-clinching win as she won at no. three singles with a clean sweep in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Classmate Deborah Landau also turned in a clean sheet with a straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 win at no. six singles. Lauren Kristofco was on pace to possibly not drop a game when her opponent was forced to retire in the first set at 3-0 in favor of Kristofco with an injury, giving Kristofco the win.

For the men, sophomore Mike Provenzano clinched the team win with his victory at no. two singles, 6-0, 6-3. As a team, the men were only defeated in one singles match. It is the fifth time this season that the men have won a team match in which they won at least eight singles/doubles matches.

Each team heads back north with a couple of home matches scheduled for the next week. Weather permitting; March 29th will be the spring home opener for each against Mount Union University. The matches are scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.

Tennis Sweeps Bethel College with Strong Singles Play

3/22/2011

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – On Tuesday morning, the Allegheny men's and women's tennis teams lost only one singles match between the two powering each to team wins against Bethel College. The men won 7-2, while the women nearly earned a clean sweep with an 8-1 win.

The Gator men (7-2) began their team match with doubles action and came out of the three matches with a 2-1 lead. The doubles duos of Patrick Cole/Jacob Allmaras, and Charlie Murphy/Frank Mosconi accounted for the two wins. With the slight edge heading into singles play, the men turned it on losing just one match and only three sets all together. Cole was dominate in flight one as he only dropped one game winning his match, 6-1, 6-0. In flights five and six, Max Sosa, and Frank Mosconi each won their matches 6-1, 6-1.

On the women's side, they began their team match with singles play and earned the team win as the Gator women (6-4) swept all six singles matches in convincing fashion, dropping only one set in the process. Lauren Kristofco had the most dominant stat line as she won her flight two match in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The lone team blemish came in doubles play as Bethel fought off the threat of a clean sweep notching a win in flight two doubles. The doubles pairing of Elyse Schmitt and Deb Landau found themselves down 5-2 in flight three doubles, but stormed back to win six straight games for the win 8-5.

Both teams will enjoy an off day on Wednesday and then ramp it back up on Thursday morning for their final match of their spring break trip against the University of Sioux Falls.

Allegheny Tennis Starts Spring Break Trip with Wins

3/20/2011

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Allegheny men's and women's tennis teams headed south for their spring break and landed in a familiar destination, Hilton Head, South Carolina., to play four matches over the next five days. First up on the slate of matches for both teams was NAIA-affiliated Nebraska Wesleyan. The Gator men (6-1) were able to edge the Prairie Wolves 5-4, while the Gator women (5-3) took their match 6-3.Both matches were played simultaneously across nine courts.

The men kicked off their match with the traditional three doubles matches, and came away with two match wins. The duos of Pat Cole/Jacob Allmaras and Frank Mosconi/Charlie Murphy had the wins as Cole/Allmaras took down Jamie Holmes and Nate Hoppe, 8-4, and Mosconi/Murphy defeated Ryan McCarty and Seth Shimerda, 8-2, to give the Gators a 2-1 advantage heading into singles play.

In singles play, the men were able to nail down the three match wins to record the team win. Singles winners included Cole in flight one (6-4, 6-1), Murphy in flight four (6-3, 6-4), and Mosconi (6-4, 6-3). Mosconi was first to pick up a win, followed by Cole, and Murphy picked up the clinching win.

On the women's side, they began their match with singles play first. The Gators were able to nearly clinch the match in singles play as they picked up four wins. Among the winners were Carolyn Shetter in flight one (3-6, 6-1, 10-8), Sara Longo in flight three (6-3, 6-0), Elyse Schmitt in flight four (6-4, 7-5), and Deb Landau in flight six (6-0, 6-4).

With a 4-2 advantage heading into double's play, the Gators needed to win one of the three doubles matches to clinch the team win. The duos of Lauren Kristofco/Longo, and Janna Dickerson/Shetter picked up wins. Kristofco/Longo had the match-clinching win for the fifth point.

Both the men and women return to action tomorrow with matches against the men's and women's teams of Carlton College. Each match is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.