Mercy Men's Tennis Battles Against Strong Competition
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Zeki Tukel |
2007-08 Season Review
DOBBS FERRY, NY - Despite missing the NCAA Division II Tournament, the Mercy College men's tennis program tested its grit and came out a better team in the end. The Mavericks battled with four teams ranked in the top 15 and have learned a lot as a result.
The season began in September at the ITA Eastern Championships at Bloomsburg University. Senior Zeki Tukel (Istanbul, Turkey) made it into the semifinals in doubles play with senior Alican Seren (Istanbul, Turkey) but were defeated by Concordia's top pair. Both also advanced to the quarterfinals in singles play.
In February the Mavericks opened up the spring season at the East Coast Conference (ECC) Flight Championships. Mercy competed with only four athletes, but was able to advance to three singles and two doubles finals. In semifinal singles action, Tukel defeated Dowling College's Petr Grishchenko in straight sets, 6-3. 6-4, while Timon Prosper (Mardi Gras, St. George's) defeated Dowling College's Saulo Gonzales in the No. 3 match, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. In the No. 4 spot, Yusufcan Koksal (Ankara, Turkey) put away Queens College's David Alper, 6-0, 6-1.
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Yusufcan Koksal |
Before heading off to Florida the Mavericks traveled to take on ECC opponent St. Thomas Aquinas College. Mercy, ranked No. 29 at the time, shutout the Spartans 9-0. Freshman Mehdi Rhazali (Rabat, Morocco), junior Carl Johnson (St. John, Antigua), and Prosper all defeated their opponents in straight sets in singles. In No. 1 singles, Tukel beat Tony Tello 8-0 and Christian Cheuque (Vina del Mar, Chile) ousted Ed Reiter 8-2.
In doubles the Mavericks continued their dominance with an 8-2 victory by Koksal and Rhazali over Tello and Ryan Maher. Johnson and Prosper won 8-0 and Tukel and Cheuque won their match 8-1.
While in Florida Mercy took on three top opponents, including Florida Southern (No. 14), Rollins (No. 9) and defending NCAA Division II champion Lynn University (No. 3). The Mavericks played hard and took three matches from Rollins. Rhazali was victorious in No. 2 singles against No. 48 Jonathan Gomez, while Johnson and Koksal both won their matches. However, the Mavericks were swept in doubles play to drop the contest 6-3.
Next the Mavericks resumed ECC action against Dowling College. Prosper shutout his opponent in straight sets (6-0, 6-0) in singles and Cheuque beat won 6-1, 6-2. The Blue & White took all three doubles matches to take the contest 5-0. Especially impressive was the match between Johnson and Tukel versus Jose Gomez and Grishchenko. The Mercy duo won a back and forth affair with the Mavericks taking the 8-6 edge.
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Mehdi Rhazali |
Mercy traveled over to Bronxville to take on No. 12 Concordia. The top player in Division II Alex Grubin defeated Tukel in No. 1 singles. The rest of the Mavericks also fell in singles play. In No. 2 doubles, Koksal and Rhazali gave Rodrigo Teixeira and Kirill Azovtsev a great match, but fell 8-6.
The Blue & White rebounded with a commanding 7-2 victory over Adelphi University. Tukel, Rhazali, Johnson, Prosper, and Koksal all started the day off with wins in singles play. Mercy dropped the final singles match and the first doubles match, but showed their resiliency by taking the final two doubles matches.
Mercy took on Queens College next in an important conference match-up. Tukel took the first singles match against Marcelo Kim in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. Queens' Fabio Minami and Dave Burstein both won their matches to take a 2-1 lead. Next, Prosper took on Taylor Crabill in a hard fought match and was triumphant 7-6 (4), 6-3. Koksal rallied to defeat his opponent after dropping the first set. Queens responded by taking the final singles match. In doubles, Johnson and Tukel beat Kim and Crabill 8-6, but the Mavericks dropped the other two matches in a 5-4 defeat.
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Timon Prosper |
The Blue & White played two non-conference matches before the ECC tournament. The Mavericks defeated Millersville 6-3, but took a 5-4 loss against Bryant.
Mercy got another shot at Queens in the ECC semifinals. The individual results were different, but the outcome remained the same as the Mavericks were knocked out of the tournament. In doubles, Tukel and Rhazali got a huge victory over Queens' top pair of Minami and Burstein (8-2). Prosper and Koksal also defeated Queens' No. 2 pair. Rhazali and Prosper both won their singles matches, but it wasn't enough in a 5-4 defeat.
The Mavericks' record finished up at 4-7 overall and 3-2 within the conference, and Rhazali earned a spot on the All-ECC Second Team. With four of those defeats coming against teams ranked among the top 15 in the nation, the 2007-08 campaign gave the five players returning for next season some valuable experience as they look for a return to the NCAA Tournament.
