Boston University
Navy (PL Semifinals)
Navy Defeats Men's Tennis in PL Semifinals, 4-1
April 18, 2015 | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Seeking its first conference tournament final appearance since 1999, the third-seeded Boston University men's tennis team dropped a hard-fought 4-1 decision to No. 2 Navy in the Patriot League semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Bucknell's Varsity Courts.
The Midshipmen (19-10) won two of three doubles contests for the first point and then captured three singles points, including two in three sets, as the Terriers ended their season at 7-7.
Sophomores Jake De Vries and Jay Leelavanich had the easiest time in doubles, as they posted an 8-2 victory in the No. 3 slot. Navy evened doubles action on an 8-4 win at No. 1 to put the point up for grabs. The Midshipmen got the needed break and held off sophomore Mario Sandoval and junior Stefan Lemire, 8-6, to grab the 1-0 advantage.
Bombonatti rebounded from his No. 1 doubles loss with a dominating performance at No. 5 singles with the 6-0, 6-3 victory. Despite winning a set in four of the other five singles matches, the Terriers would be unable to earn another point in the loss.
Navy's Blake Daniel rallied from a set down to defeat Lemire at No. 3 singles, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. De Vries tried to mount a similar rally at No. 6 but came up just short in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 loss.
The Midshipmen captured their other point at No. 2 against Leelavanich, 6-4, 6-1. Both Sandoval (#4) and junior William Kwok (#1) were trailing in the third set of their respective match when play was halted after Navy won the necessary points needed to advance to the Patriot League final.
Led by head coach Dejan Stankovic, BU improved to 2-for-2 in reaching the Patriot League semifinals after snapping Lehigh's five-season streak of reaching the semis on Friday night and will look to improve on this year's result next season.
The Terriers will lose senior Emilio Teran but will return everyone who participated in Saturday's contest.
Players Mentioned
