The Bona Venture

Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Becky McKeown Chris Post approaches a serve in a match earlier this season.

After a stunning semifinal marathon upset over top-seeded George Washington, the men's tennis team settled for second place at the Atlantic 10 Championship in Monroeville, Pa., falling in the finals to No. 2 Xavier, 4-0, Sunday.

The No. 4 Bonnies (11-7) bypassed the opening round with a bye and defeated No. 5 Charlotte, 4-1, in a quarterfinal matchup April 24.

Senior Jonathan Luce led the Brown and White attack, teaming with sophomore Chris Post to defeat Moritz Bernhoerster and Jeff Archer in doubles action, 8-6. Luce also posted a singles victory over Mike Anders in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Sophomore Enric Larregola added a pair of victories, teaming with fellow sophomore Mikhail Sudakov to beat the team of Anders and Mirza Beciragic in doubles action, 8-3. Larregola then defeated Chris Huynh in singles action in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.

The Bonnies again proved victorious in their semifinal match against the No.1 Colonials later in the day, winning 4-3 in an event that took five hours and 30 minutes to complete.

Post led the Brown and White's victory with two wins, teaming with Luce to defeat the team of Ugur Atalay and Richard Blumenfield in doubles action, 8-6. In addition, Post came back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set of a singles match against Yan Levinski to score the win, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, clinching the Bonnies' spot in their first championship match since 2003.

Post's victorious effort left both his fellow teammates amazed.

"It was unbelievable how Chris was able to come back from a 5-2, 0-4, in the third set," senior Leo Mochizuki wrote in an e-mail.

Bates credited Post for preserving the Bonnies' hopes.

"We thought we were going to be out of (the championship match)," coach Michael Bates said. "But Chris Post pulled out a great win for us and kept us in it."

But Post said he viewed the victory over George Washington as a team effort, teaching a valuable lesson in the process.

"It was such an emotional victory for us because of the way it happened," Post wrote in an e-mail. "I think I really showed the guys that no matter the score or what the odds are, to never give up, and keep fighting."

The momentum earned from such a thrilling victory was eliminated less than 24 hours later in a 4-0 defeat against No. 2 Xavier in the championship.

Continued...

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