Utica, NY- The Utica College men's tennis team is on the road for a second consecutive match, as the squad heads to SUNY Delhi on Wednesday, April 17th. Today's non-conference match is set to begin at 4 p.m.
Where We Stand: The Pioneers are 2-6, and a win would place them in a three-way tie for their best win total since 2006.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers lost 8-1 to Oswego State at Oswego's Romney Field House on Sunday. The Lakers swept the season series against Utica by a two matches to zero margin.
The .500 Club: The Pioneers hold some strength at second singles and fifth singles this season. Austin McGrain (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford) is 3-3 when playing at second singles, and Matt Zbytniewski (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) is 4-2 when playing at fifth singles, and 4-4 overall.
Paulie Matchpoint: Senior Paul Litvak (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln) leads the club in total victories with five, with two coming in singles and another three coming in doubles.
Double Trouble: Litvak and Ethan Trembley (Schenectady, NY/La Salle Institute) is the team's most consistently productive doubles pairing at a record of 3-4 so far this season. Matt Zbytniewski (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) and Garrett Bortiatynski (Rome, NY/Holland Patent) were also successful the one time they teamed up and are presently 1-0 as a doubles tandem. Those two doubles pairings helped Utica to their last win, a victory over Sage on April 9th. The Pioneers won two of the three doubles fixtures to prevail.
This Goalie Makes A Racket: Junior Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) impressed in his collegiate tennis debut on Sunday at Oswego. The junior recorded the team's lone victory of the day with a 6-2, 6-0 win at sixth singles. Baggetta is now a multi-sport athlete at UC after dazzling thousands of fans this winter as the starting goaltender for Utica's men's ice hockey team. He reset every major single season mark for a starting goaltender at Utica this past winter.
Road Trip: The Pioneers are still searching for their first road victory of the season. Both of the team's wins have come at home.
Historically vs. Delhi: The Pioneers played their first-ever meeting against Delhi earlier this season and lead the series one match to zero. The teams were scheduled to meet last year, but the match was ultimately cancelled.
Last Time Vs. Delhi: the Pioneers were able to come away with a 7-2 win on April 3rd. It was the team's first win of the season and it came in a dominant team performance. The Pioneers registered a sweep in doubles and had four singles wins that day. This moved the team's record to 1-3 on the season at that point. Austin McGrain (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford), Paul Litvak (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln), Ethan Trembley (Schenectady, NY/La Salle Institute), and Matt Zbytniewski (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) each won both of their matches.
Keeping The Lid On: The Pioneers were very successful at limiting the opponent's top players when they met the Broncos earlier this year. First singles player Laif Lundstorm was held to just a single win and did not win his doubles match, and doubles specialist Payton Dean was also left empty handed as his pairing was topped by Paul Litvak (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln) and Ethan Trembley (Schenectady, NY/La Salle Institute) by an 8-0 blanking.
Checking Out The Broncos: The Broncos are currently 4-5 on the season, and are hunting for a .500 record in Wednesday's match. SUNY Delhi has won two straight matches by 8-1 margins against Johnson State and Lyndon State of Vermont. Laif Lundstorm sports the team's best singles record at first singles at 4-2, and Payton Dean is 4-2 in doubles competition. With a 2-1 record in the North Atlantic Conference, the Broncos are looking to finish strong with just two regular season matches left. After Wednesday's match, Delhi will be on the road Thursday against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Up Next: After this match, the Pioneers will be home April 19th against Alfred University. This will be the first of three straight home matchups, two of which are Empire 8 conference meetings. Friday's match is set to begin at 4 p.m. at the Utica College Tennis Courts.
