Thursday, March 29, 2007
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The Mercy College men's tennis team visited Washington, D.C., on the return trip after winning the North South Duals at Barton College. |
No. 40 Mercy College Men's Tennis Rides North South Duals Team Title into Weekend Tilt at No. 18 Concordia
DOBBS FERRY, NY - The Mercy College men's tennis team, ranked No. 40 in the latest FILA/ITA national poll, opened up the spring 2007 season by going 4-1 in dual match play to win the North South duals, hosted by Barton College in Wilson, N.C. from March 23-25. The Flyers registered wins over Methodist (6-1), Mount Olive (5-4), No. 38 Limestone (5-3), and Chowan (5-0), before falling to No. 31 Barton (5-2).
"I am very proud of our performance and we met our expectations going into the trip," said Head Coach Barbaros Ozdogan. "They were dedicated to winning, never gave up fighting, and they all realized that the hard work paid off on the court."
Mercy had several standout performances in the event, highlighted by the play of junior Alican Seren (Istanbul, Turkey) who was near perfect, going 4-0 in singles play and 4-1 in doubles, as he was named the East Coast Conference (ECC) Player of the Week. Freshman Carlos Ferreira (Sao Paolo, Brazil) posted a pair of victories in singles and doubles action at the North South duals, helping him earn ECC Rookie of the Week honors. Not to be outdone, sophomore Timon Prosper (Grenada) posted a pair of singles wins that sealed team victories versus Mount Olive and Limestone.
"We went into this tournament with several goals," said Ozdogan. "Playing and winning against nationally ranked teams helps us in the rankings. It also gave us real match experience before conference play starts and gave us a chance to get our doubles teams in match condition. This tournament showed that we prepared well. We have not had this kind of preparation in previous years and it should give us a competitive advantage going into the rest of the season."
On the trip home, Ozdogan and his squad made a stop in Washington, D.C. While in our nation's capitol, they had a chance to see many historical sites, including the White House, Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Monument, the new World War II Monument, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. While on Capitol Hill, Mercy's student-athletes had the opportunity to view a live discussion at The House of Representatives.
"Our visit to Washington, D.C. was truly a wonderful cultural opportunity and an invaluable experience for the entire team," said Ozdogan.
Next up for Mercy will be a key ECC match at Concordia, currently ranked No. 18 in the nation, on Saturday, March 31, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Mercy, Concordia and Queens shared last year's ECC regular season title.
"It will be a tough match and we are looking forward to the challenge of playing the 18th-ranked team in the nation," said Ozdogan. "We are mentally and physically ready to compete against Concordia, and just like every year, it will be a great show of tennis for spectators."
About Mercy College Athletics
Mercy College is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II institution and a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC). The College competes in 15 men's and women's sports. To learn more about Mercy's Department of Athletics and Recreation, call (914) 674-7220 or visit http://www.mercyathletics.com/.
