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April 3, 2004
Princess Anne, MD - On April 3rd, on the home courts of University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), the Hawks Tennis Men's Squad defeated their Delmarva rivals from Delaware State University (DSU). The starting time for the match was delayed an hour and a half because of a morning shower. Once the match got underway, it was smooth sailing for the Hawks. Taking the doubles point with the inspired play from George Ray and Rob Schneider (9-7 in the tiebreak) to capture the #2 doubles match. The steady play of DSU's Catalin Popescu was too much for our #1 seed Brandon Jackson. The match is tied 1-1 overall. Rob Schneider had an epic battle at the second singles position. Rob lost the first set 6-3, and comes back strong with big serving at the critical times and takes the second set convincingly at 6-2. Rob continues to maintain the lead through the close final set. In fact Schneider was serving with three match points to close out the match. Del State's #2 Liston Fahie came up with some big forehands, and took the set into a tiebreak. After being out there over three hours today Schneider let the opportunity slip through his fingers. Delaware State takes it 7-2 in a tiebreak in the third. George Ray has found his top form and plays his best match this season. His lefty serve and steady topspin takes the match 6-4, 6-3. Our #4 singles player has a tough day, but starts to find his form late in the match. DSU wins the #4 position 6-1,6-4. Shahan Sudusinghe won the #6 singles position by default.
The match is tied 3-3 overall. The outcome of the match rests on the shoulders of our #5 player Hasika Pamanuwa who is just going into the third set. He lost the first 4-6, then took the second 6-1. We had excellent momentuem starting the third. Hasika finished strong even in this pressure filled environment. He won the final set and the team match 6-2. UMES 4 - DSU 3 is the final score.
"I'm very proud of the way our player's performed when it counted today. I was a little disappointed Schneider didn't take his singles match, but he did an excellent job putting himself into a position where he could win against a tough opponent with outstanding ground strokes and passing shots. Schneider followed his game plan to the letter and kept the pressure on all day." said Head Coach Doug Wright "Hasika found a smooth relaxed pace to his match and his stroke style today. His consistent play and quickness were too much for his opponent today," added Coach Wright. The Fighting Hawks face Towson and Coppin State to finish up the regular season. They travel to Orlando FL for the MEAC Championships on April 20th. |
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