BOX SCORE

by Brian Niemiec, Sports Information Assistant

The Saint Vincent men's tennis team took to the courts Wednesday afternoon for a non-conference match up with Penn State Altoona and dropped an 8-1 decision to the Lions at the Greensburg Racquet Club in Greensburg, Pa.

Coming off a loss the Grove City the previous day the Bearcats looked to right the ship with a win.
 
Saint Vincent fell behind early to begin doubles play in all three pairings early before having eventual comeback attempts thwarted by PSU-Altoona. The first doubles team of Chris Andrejcik and Scott Reichard dropped four of the first six games before they snapped out of their funk by winning three of the next five games to make it 6-5 in favor of Altoona. The Lions went on to win the next two games to claim the first point of the day.
 
The second doubles pairing of Tyler Brinton and Dalton Yezovich put up a valiant fight after being down 4-1. The partners erased the deficit and eventually took the lead at 6-5 before dropping the last three games to lose 8-6.
 
Third doubles saw the return of Pat McGee to the court after he missed last game. McGee was paired with fellow sophomore Brian Niemiec, who was making only his second start for the Bearcats. The pair kept it close early trading blows with Altoona for the first five games, before hitting a wall and dropping the next three games.
 
At 6-2 Brian Niemiec won his serve to start the pair on a run that brought the match to 6-5. At this point the Lions kicked it into high gear and took the last two pints of the match.
 
Heading into singles play in a 3-0 hole the Bearcats were looking for something to spark a comeback. Altoona clinched the match in impressive fashion claiming the second and third singles points 6-1 and 6-0 and 6-0 and 6-0, respectively.
 
Pat McGee, playing fifth singles, dropped a heartbreaker in a third set tiebreaker 6-0, 0-6 and 10-12. The Lions claimed the first singles point 6-0 and 6-2 after a delay in play due to a malfunction with the net during the first set. After the match was already decided the Bearcats won their lone point at the fourth singles spot when Yezovich won 6-2 and 6-0.
 
The loss drops the Bearcats to 1-2 on the season. Saint Vincent will be back in action on Friday, March 27 when they travel to Westminster for a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup with the Titans.