The Siena Men's Tennis team got a big boost from a familiar face and a fresh face—as returning junior
Maxwell Acri and freshman
Dylan Breen each put together a pair of victories as one half of their doubles teams and in singles play to lead the Saints to a 5-2 head-to-head opening victory for the 2023-24 season over Stonehill at Tri-City Fitness in Latham.
Acri and redshirt junior
Elijah Zifferblatt emerged victorious from the doubles #3 position, winning 6-3 against Guillaume Duhil De Benaze and Armaan Mullick.
The pairing of Acri and Zifferblatt improved to a 5-0 this season in doubles play.
Acri took care of business at the singles number four spot by beating Alexis Chastang, 6-3, 6-3.
Breen, a native of Waterford, Ireland, teamed with freshman
Oscar Martinez to top Jacob Borch-Nielsen and Mark Kroell 7-5. Breen and Martinez are now 5-1 in doubles play. In singles action, Breen won the first set against Mullick 6-1 and was ahead 3-2 before Mullick had to retire.
"This was a good way to start this new era of Siena tennis," said Siena men's tennis coach
John Chiaramonte.
"The team is hungry and motivated. Match MVP was
Zino Varouhas-Poole. He bounced back quickly from a tough loss, got up an early break and cruised to victory, clinching the match for us."
Varouhas-Poole, a sophomore transfer from Marquette, responded back after an earlier loss in doubles play with junior
Fabio Varella, to defeat the Skyhawks' Kroell 6-3, 6-1.
The Saints will next travel to New Haven, CT to take part in the ITA Regionals from Friday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 8 to conclude the fall portion of their schedule.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#1 Martinez/Breen (SC) def. Borch-Nielsen/Kroell (Stonehill) 7-5
#2 Mallen/Chastang (Stonehill) def. Varella/Varouhas-Poole (SC) 6-3
#3 Acri/Zifferblatt (SC) def. Duhil De Benaze/Mullick (Stonehill) 6-3
SINGLES
#1 Borch-Nielsen (Stonehill) def. Varella (SC) 6-1, 2-6, [10-2]
#2 Mallen (Stonehill) def. Martinez (SC) 6-4, 1-6, [10-7]
#3 Varouhas-Poole (SC) def. Kroell (Stonehill) 6-3, 6-1
#4 Acri (SC) def. Chastang (Stonehill) 6-3, 6-3
#5 Breen (SC) def. Mullick (Stonehill) 6-1, 3-2, retired
#6 Moro (SC) def. Rodrigues (Stonehill) 6-2, 7-5
