Men's Tennis Set for Patriot League Tournament
April 16, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Patriot League Tournament Central
BOSTON - Seeking the program's first conference title since 1996, the No. 3-seeded Boston University men's tennis team will open the Patriot League Tournament on Friday afternoon at Bucknell's Varsity Courts.
Led by head coach Dejan Stankovic, the Terriers (6-6) will kick off the quarterfinals against sixth-seeded Lehigh (12-9) at 2 p.m.
BU went 3-1 in conference action with wins over No. 4 Colgate (7-0), No. 8 Lafayette (4-0) and No. 9 Holy Cross (7-0). The lone loss came in a tough 6-1 defeat to defending conference champion and top-seeded Army West Point.
The Terriers enter the competition with five men owning at least five singles wins in dual action. Sophomore Jay Leelavanich leads the Terriers with a 7-1 record at the No. 3 slot, while juniors William Kwok (#1) and Stefan Lemire (#2) own a 5-5 mark in their respective singles position.
Sophomore Mario Sandoval is second on the team with six dual victories, highlighted by a 5-3 mark at No. 4. He also collected a victory in the No. 5 slot. Classmate Lucas Bombonatti went 3-1 at No. 5 and 2-1 at No. 4 to finish the dual regular season at 5-6. Fellow sophomore Jake De Vries posted a 3-1 record at No. 6 and has collected a win at both No. 3 and 5, respectively.
In doubles, BU has reshuffled the lineup, trying seven different duos during the dual season. Bombonatti and Kwok went 2-2 at No. 1 doubles. Leelavanich and De Vries posted a 5-5 mark in the No. 3 slot while also collecting a victory at No. 2. Sandoval teamed with Bombonatti for a 2-4 record at No. 2 and 1-2 with Lemire.
Lehigh won the Patriot League title in 2013 and has reached five straight PL semifinals. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 4-3 win against Colgate and 7-0 victory over Lafayette. Besides beating Loyola (7-0), they fell to Army West Point (5-2), Bucknell (4-3) and Navy (5-2).
Before joining the PL in the summer of 2013, the Terriers claimed a total of four America East titles (1988, 1993, 1994 and 1996). Last year, they were edged by Navy in the semifinals, 4-3.
To reach its first Patriot League final, BU will have to win its sixth straight conference tournament quarterfinal contest and then its first semifinal match since 1999 against either No. 2 Navy or No. 7 Loyola Maryland.
The Midshipmen (17-10, 3-1 PL) enter the tournament seeking their 10th conference title. They claimed wins over Colgate, Lafayette and Loyola Maryland before falling to the Black Knights, 4-0.
2015 Patriot League Men's Tennis Tournament
Friday, April 17 -- Quarterfinals
No. 1 Army West Point vs. No. 8 Lafayette, 9 a.m.
No. 4 Colgate vs. No. 5 Bucknell, 12 p.m.
No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Lehigh, 2 p.m.
No. 2 Navy vs. No. 7 Loyola, 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 18 -- Semifinals
Army West Point/Lafayette vs. Colgate/Bucknell, 11 a.m.
Boston University/Lehigh vs. Navy/Loyola, 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 19 -- Championship
Semifinal winners, noon
