Bears Tennis Falls to Vaughn in HVMAC Play

FLUSHING, N.Y. – Despite singles victories from Jeff Bonowicz (Whitestone, NY/Holy Cross) and Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, NY/St. Edmund Prep), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's tennis team dropped a 6-3 decision to Vaughn College in a Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) matchup at the USTA National Tennis Center on Tuesday night.

The Bears (0-2, 0-2 HVMAC) drop their second straight league contest of the season while the Warriors (1-4, 1-2) notch their first victory of their inaugural season.

After building an early lead, Bonowicz had to rally from three games down to win at No. 3 singles, 10-9 (7-2) in a tiebreaker. O'Neill shined in his collegiate debut with a 10-0 victory at No. 4 singles, the most decisive match of the night. The duo would team up at No. 2 doubles and held a 5-4 lead before dropping a 7-5 decision in a match shortened due to time.

Kyle Johnson (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook Central) played a hard-fought match, succumbing 10-7 at No. 2 singles, in a match that would have sent both teams tied 3-3 headed into doubles.

Nick Orlando (Brooklyn, NY/Christ the King) and Dickson Tan (Brooklyn, NY/East-West School of International Studies) notched the lone point in doubles play, holding a 2-1 advantage at No. 3 doubles when their opponents retired due to illness.

St. Joseph's returns to action back at the National Tennis Center on Friday, April 12 for a non-conference match against Cooper Union starting at 7 p.m.