Men's Tennis Extends Win Streak to Four

By Broadside Staff Writer Brian Chan

A late season surge has boosted the George Mason Patriots men’s tennis team as they have their sights on the CAA tournament. On Friday, the Patriots defeated the Robert Morris Colonials 4-2 in a non-conference match for their fourth straight win. Due to the weather concerns, there were no doubles matches.

Mason (6-10, 0-4) was led by senior Brian Fitzgerald and sophomore Stas Budagov, as each were challenged in the first set, but would later run away with a much quicker second set. Fitzgerald, the lone Patriot with an overall record above .500, increased his season win total to 14 with a convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory over Nick Paganetti. His spectacular spring play has resulted in him winning 10 of his 15 matches.

Budagov improved his spring record to 6-9, as his terrific one-handed backhand made it tough for his opponent to return shots over the net. The sophomore has won each of his singles matches on the four-game winning streak for Mason.

“The difference between the first set and the second set of my match versus Robert Morris had a lot to do with my level of play. I was struggling to get rhythm in the first seven games of the match. Ryan Cameron, my opponent, took advantage of this by keeping the ball in play and waiting for me to miss,” said Budagov, “Later in the first set, I began to execute the points much better. From that point on, I didn't miss the shots I usually make. The only way Ryan could have kept up with the score was to come up with great shots and higher level of play. Instead, he became fatigued and started to miss the shots he made earlier in the first set.”

Junior Daniel Schneider won at the No. 3 spot with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory. On the other hand, freshman Harwood Hoskins gave Mason the crucial fourth win with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) score. Both sets were played in a see-saw back-and-forth style between Hoskins and opponent Mateusz Wodzinski. In the second set, Hoskins took a 5-2 lead, but Wodzinski fought back to take the lead at 6-5. Instead of going to a third set, Hoskins forced the two to go into a tiebreaker. However in the tiebreaker, it was the Hoskins show with the freshman jumping to a 5-1 lead and finishing with the win.

The two losses came at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions with Jordan Lipstock and Martin Brown. Lipstock, a junior, lost the first set 6-3, but rallied to force a tiebreaker after being down 4-1 in the second set. In the end, his efforts fell short in a 7-3 loss. Brown started off with a 4-1 lead early in the first set only to see his opponent take the next five games. In the second set, Brown struggled to force a third set, losing 6-3.

As of March 26, the Mason fell to CAA rival James Madison 7-0, continuing their winless conference record. Within the last week, the Patriots have gone from 2-10 overall to 6-10, thanks in part to their homestand. The Patriots still look for their first conference win, but will have to do it against the Drexel Dragons. The team, which started the month of April with two victories, will “refuse to lose” this month.

Budagov stated, “The beginning of the season was very tough for our team. We played schools with a strong tennis history and good recruiting programs. At this point in the season, we are not playing teams that are as good as those we played earlier. As a result, the outcome of our matches is to our advantage since we are winning. The tough matches have prepared us for, as Brian Fitzgerald would say, the ‘cupcakes.’ Unfortunately, CAA's no ‘cupcake.’ We will have to perform just as good or even better to have a shot in the tournament.”

Three of the final four matches will be at home against Drexel (April 5), Howard (April 8), and the finale against Longwood (April 13). For now, one of the teams from the CAA on a hot streak will be the Mason Patriots men’s tennis team.

“Our win streak is definitely giving us more confidence, and I believe that we will keep playing well for the remainder of the season. However, the outcome of our matches will not only depend on our performance, but also the strengths of our opponent,” concluded Budagov.