What’s the difference between a dalmatian and a greyhound? The latter is spotless. Ahh, to be spotless in sports, is to be perfect. Without joking around though, the Red passed its first real test of the spring yesterday afternoon.
Clean Slate
The netters squeezed out a 4-3 victory over the Army Cadets and remained spotless with a 9-0 record on the season. The Red has historically played the Cadets tough over the past.
“They are one of our biggest rivals,” commented freshman Zach Gallin.
“Seven of the past nine years, we have managed to play them to a 4-3 match score.”
Indicative of the grudge match that the Red has with Army, senior tri-captain and No. 1 Mike Halperin pulled out a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 win over Army’s Marshall Clay in the final deciding match.
Fortunately for the Red, Halperin’s bad days are better than others’ good ones.
“I played terribly in the beginning, but then my shots started falling in and from there I just played better,” remarked Halperin.
Freshmen Zach Gallin and Scott Paltrowitz also won their respective matches to garner the two other points that the Red earned in the singles matches.
Dogfight
Gallin ran Sonny Avichal ragged like a raggamuffin in a 6-2, 6-4 victory at the No. 4 position.
Paltrowitz followed suit, with a 6-3, 6-2 trouncing of Army’s Arnie Albornoz at the No. 5 slot.
“We had some injuries in this match, but it was good to see some of the guys step up and have good matches,” said Gallin.
Paltrowitz knew ahead of time that, “Army was going to present a challenge to us and that we were in for a dogfight.”
Not even the government and all its dollars could manage to defeat Cornell in the doubles competition. Halperin and senior Russ Gimelstob beat Clay and Burdette, 8-5, at the No. 1 position.
Demerits to Army’s Avichal and Matt Thinnes for their loss to Gallin and Mike Mestel, 8-5, in the No. 3 position.
Army’s Kent Ball cashed in with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Chris Lewis at the No. 2 position.
John Sabia of Army, made his parents proud with a 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 triumph over Greg Artzt at the No. 3 position, in a close match. Andy Burdette defeated Cornell’s Julien Cheng 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 at the No. 6 position.
Learning Experience
“It was good for the team to be in a close match, so that we learn how to fight and play hard,” Halperin said.
The Red had the last laugh.
The netters look to keep that zero in the loss column, when they meet Florida A&M on Mar. 18, in the first match of their spring break trip down south.
Archived article by Donald Lee