October 2, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men's College Tennis
La Salle University 4, Rider University 3
LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs lost a high spirited non-conference match to the Explorers Tuesday afternoon. “The all-important doubles point is what decided the match today,” said head coach Ed Torres. “We were up 7-4 and lost 9-7. In any close match, 90 percent of the time, the team that takes the doubles point will win the overall match.”
For Rider (1-4), sophomore Will Haight (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) won at third singles 6-1, 7-5 and teamed up with sophomore Marc Ashed (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) to win at second doubles 9-7.
“Will is a rare kind of player in the fact that he is very strong at both doubles and singles,” said Torres. “We have some players who are great in singles and solid in doubles but not great in every match. Will has the ability to be great in both and that is a hard thing to do. For someone to give you ?double-wins' is huge and not many guys can do it on a consistent basis.”
“Marc and I played really well in the doubles match,” said Haight who gave his parents in attendance two wins for the price of one. “We felt that our match was winnable and we played probably the best match this year besides our match against Lafayette. In singles, I was happy to get my first win of the season. I've been playing a little ugly and today I had a good opponent. I was able to get our early and win the first set and then he battled back and was up 5-2 before I was able to come back and win the set. The singles win was setup by the doubles match. My serving gave me confidence for the rest of my game and I was able to carry that into my singles match.”
“It's always good to have the support of your parents,” Haight said. “They give you that support that others can't quite give you. My dad taught me how to play tennis and he has been great about giving me pointers here and there. He saw that I took an interest in the game when I was younger and showed me how to play and with the opportunities that it generated for college, I'm glad he did.”
The Broncs also posted a win at first singles with junior Casey Jedlinski (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) winning a thriller in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Freshman Chris Esposito also posted a three-set win, in come from behind fashion 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
“It was a great match for the spectators,” Torres said. “A few controversial calls got the players into it, got the crowd into it and then we had three of the matches decided in three sets so that added to the atmosphere as well.”
“We started out 1-4 but with some of the competition we have been facing, you could almost see that coming,” Haight added. “We're pretty happy with the way we've been playing and we'll be happier when we get some wins under our belt. The freshmen came in and gave us a stronger team with more depth and a good attitude. They've given us an opportunity to compete in matches where we weren't able to last season. All of them are getting better and hopefully that will lead to us getting better this season and in years forward. Even though I'm only a sophomore you kind of mentor the younger players a little bit. They have listened to what we've had to say and all of are having fun and looking for a good season.”
Rider hosts St. Francis-New York in a non-conference match at noon on Sunday on the campus of Rider University. The match was originally scheduled for the National Tennis Center in New York but was moved due to a schedule conflict.
“The match on Sunday should be competitive,” Torres added. “I'm a little worried about some of the guys nursing some injuries but we have enough depth on the roster and enough time between now and Sunday to decide on a lineup if any of the players can't go.”
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