April 6, 2008

MONROEVILLE, Pa. - Despite losing the doubles point, the fifth-seeded St. Bonaventure men's tennis team rallied to defeat third-seeded and reigning conference champ Charlotte, 4-3, in dramatic fashion in the third place match of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Club 4 Life.

With the match tied 3-3, junior Jonathan Luce took down Charlotte's Michael Anders 6-2, 7-6 (10), in the third flight for the game-winning point.

The win marks the Brown and White's third of the weekend and second of the season against the 49ers. St. Bonaventure's third place finish is its best since 2005.

Charlotte took the doubles point thanks to a pair of victories at No. 2 and No. 3. St. Bonaventure top doubles tandem of junior Leo Mochizuki and freshman Chris Post won convincingly to end the tournament with a 3-0 mark.

Junior Victor Lecina and Mochizuki started the comeback with big wins in the first and second flights, respectively. Both took their matches in straight sets, but were pushed to a tie-breaker in the win.

Sophomore Diego Valdenegro knotted the score at 3-3 as he continued to dominate at No. 5 singles. For the fourth time this weekend, Valdenegro won in straight sets, completing the tournament 4-0 without losing a set.

No. 5 St. Bonaventure 4, No. 3 Charlotte 3
Doubles
1. Mochizuki/Post (SBU) def. Clinard/Archer (CHA) - 8-4
2. F. Bernhoerster/Huynh (CHA) def. Lecina/Sudakov (SBU) - 8-6
3. Anders/Hutchinson (CHA) def. Valdenegro/Luce (SBU) - 8-3

Singles
1. Victor Lecina (SBU) def. F. Bernhoerster (CHA) - 6-4, 7-6 (5)
2. Leo Mochizuki (SBU) def. Clinard (CHA) - 6-2, 7-6 (4)
3. Jonathan Luce (SBU) def. Anders (CHA) - 6-2, 7-6 (6)
4. Cuellar (CHA) def. Chris Post (SBU) - 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
5. Diego Valdenegro (SBU) def. Hutchinson (CHA) - 7-5, 6-3
6. Archer (CHA) def. Enric Larregola (SBU) - 6-3, 4-6, 7-5