Men's College Tennis
Saint Thomas Aquinas 5, Rider University 4
SPARKILL, N.Y.--The Rider University men's tennis team lost a non-conference match at Saint Thomas Aquinas Saturday afternoon.
"The match could have gone either way," said head coach Ed Torres. "It was a tough five hour match. There were a lot of long rallies and it was a competitive match."
For Rider, junior Rollie Malfitano (Wenonah/Gloucester Catholic) won in three sets at first singles 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 with senior John Spellman (Toms River/Toms River HS South) posting a 6-2, 6-3 straight sets win at fourth singles.
Senior Matt DiMartino (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) had the match of the day, with a come from behind 7-6 (2), 7-5 win at sixth singles.
"I was down 3-0 in the first set and 4-1 in the second set," DiMartino remembered. "I just tried to keep my opponent off balance with a different variety of shots. We were having long rallies and I started to try to move him around with drop shots and my lob was working today."
In doubles competition, senior Ryan Carpenter (Sahuarita, Ariz./Sahuarita) and senior Milo Milosovici (Florence) teamed up for an 8-6 win at third doubles.
The Rider women are back on the court on Monday for a non-conference match at Monmouth. Both teams travel to Siena for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match on September 29.
"We have an older team with a lot of experience," said DiMartino. "I think good things are on the horizon."
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