September 19, 2008

Tennis Travels to New York Invite

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Coming off the heels of a very successful showing at the Cornell Fall Outdoor Invitational in which the Red played both host and favorite, the men’s tennis team will now prepare to journey downstate to participate in the Men’s College Tennis Invitational today in Flushing, Queens.
At home last weekend the squad fared well, reaching the finals in five of the six brackets and taking the title in four of those. This weekend though, the action should become significantly more competitive, as the invitational features Ivy League teams in addition to more unfamiliar foes such as Binghamton, St. John’s and Alabama. [img_assist|nid=31927|title=Body in motion|desc=Junior Jonathan Fife swings during a home match against Army on March 31, 2008.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
This will be the Red’s first time on the road this semester, and the squad is playing at the National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open. Last year at this venue, the team went 2-1, losing to Dartmouth before defeating St. Joseph’s and Boston College. The tournament runs until Sunday.
The women’s team also plays today, opening the season at home as the men did, with the Cornell Outdoor Invitational. With a handful of new players and an interim coach in Barry Schoonmaker (who coached the men until this year), the team will get to know each other over the season as the audience does.
Schoonmaker fills in for former head coach Rob Weiss, who was inducted into the NCAA College Tennis Hall of Fame in April. The Red is looking to start things off on the right foot this weekend, after a disappointing end to the spring season in which the team dropped five of their its six matches.
This will be the women’s team’s first and last time playing at Reis Tennis Center this semester; in the weeks to come the Red will be playing in Philadelphia, West Point, Flushing and West Lafayette.