1/29/05 - St. Bonaventure defeated region-rival Colgate 4-3 today.  The win improves the Bonnies record to 3-2 on the year.1

The Bonnies came out strong in doubles and clinched the point to go up 1-0.  Sophomores Andrew Hart and Dejan Stankovic came out firing, winning 8-1 at #2.  Shortly after, seniors Nikhil Murali and Mario Arce won at #1 doubles 8-4.  Sophomore Alejandro Nery (pictured) and January-recruit Antonio Farias dropped an 8-6 decision at #3.

In singles, Nery would rebound from his loss in doubles to win in straight sets to give the Bonnies a 2-0 lead.  Shortly after, Arce, ranked 8th in the northeast region, would defeat Reed Hagmaan in a hard-fought straight set victory.  Hagmaan, ranked 4th in the Northeast region, held a 4-0 second set lead before Arce came back to win and put the Bonnies up 3-0.

Stankovic dropped a 3-set decision at #4 despite a 5-2 second set lead and a match point, giving Colgate their first point of the match and closing the Bonaventure lead to 2.  Murali dropped his match in a third set tiebreaker at #2 singles and Colgate closed the lead to 1 with two matches remaining on court.

Farias dropped a straight set decision at #6 and Colgate had evened  the match and only Hart left playing.  Hart, undefeated last weekend in the Virginia Tech shootout, kept his strong form this season and scored a 3-set victory and sealed the victory for the Bonnies.  In exhibition action, senior Sajeel Qureshi won 8-2.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bonnies travel to Cleveland State for a match on Jan. 30.  The Bonnies defeated Cleveland State 5-2 in their home-opener last spring.