September 15, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Tennis
Men: Rider University 4, New Jersey Institute of Technology 3
Women: New Jersey Institute of Technology 6, Rider University 1
LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs opened the 2007 fall season with the men winning and the women losing to the New Jersey Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon in a non-conference match. “N.J.I.T. had the better team on the women's side,” said head coach Ed Torres. “On the men's side, it was an exciting match and came down to freshman Josh Rultenberg winning his first collegiate match when the team score was tied at three all. He played very well and beat a strong player in a pressure situation. Everyone was watching his match because it was the final one of the day.”
For the Rider (1-0) men, senior Jim Leone (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township) won at sixth singles 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and teamed up with sophomore Mike Straub (Abington, Pa./Abington) to win at third doubles 8-2.
“The match went really well today,” said Leone, one of three seniors on the 16 player roster. “Mike and I have good chemistry and we played a strong match. On the singles side, I was down a set and 4-2 in the second and I was able to make a few adjustments and won the next 10 games to close out my match. My opponent was taking the net away early and I was able to overcome that by keeping the ball deep. I made him play on the baseline which gave me the advantage.”
Also posting wins for the Broncs were Rultenberg (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) at second singles (6-1, 6-4), sophomore Marc Ashed (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) at fourth singles (6-4, 6-4) and freshman Chris Esposito (Ocean Grove, N.J./Neptune) who posted a 6-0, 6-1 win at fifth singles.
“My first college match, it was exciting to play it,” said Rultenberg. “You could not have written it any better having the outcome come down to my match. I knew going in that my match might be important and as everyone started watching, I knew I had to win it. I like playing with pressure on me so it worked out. I was glad that I was able to pull out the win for the team.”
“I was pleased with the men's performance,” Torres said. “You had two rookies in the lineup and they both won and we had a strong veteran presence with the other four players. They went through a lot last season going 3-20 and all of that experience and hard work is going to start paying dividends.”
“We are all excited about the team this year,” Leone added. “A good example is the play of the freshmen today. Rultenberg and Esposito both won and with Rultenberg's match the deciding one, he won without any drama which is big for us. I thought he stepped up in what could have been a very tough spot, especially for a freshman. He held it together even though everyone was watching and won in an intense situation.”
For the Rider (0-1) women, junior Danielle Cheong (Singapore/Republic Polytechnic) won at fifth singles 6-2, 6-2.
“Winning the match 4-3 on the men's side is big for us,” Torres added. “That was a kind of match that we may have lost 5-2 or 6-1 last year so you can see that the team is stronger for the adversity that they went through last year.”
“It's exciting,” said Leone. “Last year everyone had to move up and play in positions that they weren't necessary ready for on the collegiate level. This year, we are all returning and with that experience along with the new freshman in the lineup and with the other new players on the roster pushing us to get better, we are definitely stronger this season.”
The women's team returns to action on Tuesday at Lafayette with the men's team hosting Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rival Marist on Wednesday.
-RU-
