Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Colgate
Men's Tennis Defeats Colgate, 4-3, in League Opener
March 07, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Verona, N.Y. - Army men's tennis opened Patriot League play on Sunday, winning its fourth consecutive game by defeating Colgate 4-3 in Verona, N.Y. Playing in his first singles contest of the year, sophomore Gary Kushnirovic pushed the Black Knights to the victory, winning in tie-breaking fashion.
Kushnirovic made his season debut on Friday in doubles play against NJIT, while his match at No. 3 singles against Colgate's Alec Goldstein was his first solo match of the year. The sophomore won, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to cut the 3-3 tie and lead Army to the win.
The Black Knights began the match by winning the doubles point, posting victories at No. 1 and 2.
Playing in his first contest since Feb. 20, junior Donald Van Velzer teamed with senior Tripp Johnson at No. 1 doubles. The duo defeated Alec Bernasek and Rusian Goussiatnikov, 8-4, in their first pairing of the season. The win marked Johnson's team-leading 12th doubles victory of the season, while Van Velzer improved to 7-5.
Freshmen Henry Jang-Milsten and Asika Isoh teamed at No. 2 doubles, defeating Luke Gensberg and Sean Spellberg, 8-4. Jang-Milsten and Isoh bumped their team record to 1-3, while the win increased Jang-Milsten's win total to nine and Isoh's to 11.
Johnson won his fourth consecutive singles match by defeating Bobby Berkowitz, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 2. The senior improved to 7-8 this spring and 9-17 overall.
Sophomore Alex Holland also earned a point for the Black Knights, prevailing at No. 4 singles. Holland defeated Bernasek, 6-4, 6-2, for his third straight and win and fifth of the spring.
Army improved to 5-7 overall while Colgate drops to 4-4. The Black Knights bumped their overall mark against the Raiders to 46-15-2, dating back to 1925.
Up next for the Black Knights, Army will spend spring break, March 12-17, in South Carolina, competing at the Chick-Fil-A Doubles Invitational in Greenville, as well as playing dual matches against Wofford, Buffalo and Furman.
Army - 4
Colgate - 3
Doubles
1. Van Velzer/Johnson (Army) def. Bernasek/Goussiantnikov, 8-4
2. Jang-Milsten/Isoh (Army) def. Gensburg/Spellberg 8-4
3. Goldstein/Beam (Colgate) def. Holland/Verano 8-5
Singles
1. Luke Gensberg (Colgate) def. Asika Isoh 6-1,7-6 (7-5)
2. Tripp Johnson (Army) def Bobby Berkowitz 6-3,6-2
3. Gary Kushnirovic (Army) def Alec Goldstein 6-4,7-6 (7-4)
4. Alex Holland (Army) def Alec Bernasek, 6-4,6-2
5. Rusian Goussiatnikov (Colgate) def. Henry Jang-Milsten, 6-1,6-4
6. Connor Feuille (Colgate) def. Allen Xu, 1-6,6-1 (10-8)
Players Mentioned
