BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (April 17, 2011) – The Kutztown University men's tennis team earned a split decision against two of the top teams in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region. The Golden Bears beat Bluefield State, 5-2, and lost to West Virginia Wesleyan, 5-2, in regional dual action at Bloomsburg University Sunday afternoon.
Kutztown (11-4) overall is ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional rankings. The Golden Bears squared off against a pair of squads ranked ahead of them in second-ranked West Virginia Wesleyan and third-ranked Bluefield State.
Kutztown was up to the challenge as it won three singles' and two doubles' matches defeat Bluefield State. The Golden Bears rode their strong singles showing to take down BSC. Rushi Amin (Orefield, PA/Lake Brantley), Cameron O'Donnell (Allentown, PA/Parkland), and Andrew won their singles' matches in straight sets. Kutztown's top doubles tandem of Kaushik Das (Guwahati, Assam/National Open School) and Arijit Goswami (Kolkata, India/LSA Kolkata) prevailed in a tough 8-6 match. The third doubles' squad of Amin and Juan Guiterriez were 8-4 winners.
Against West Virginia Wesleyan, the Golden Bears received a victory at No. 3 doubles from recently added Joel Irwin and Zhu, 8-2. Amin was Kutztown's only winner in singles' competition.
Kutztown will now turn its attention to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs where it will to three-peat at conference champions. Kutztown will open against fourth seeded Mercyhurst College Thursday at 3 p.m. All PSAC tennis championship matches will be held at Bloomsburg.
Kutztown 5, Bluefield State 2
Singles
1. Kaushik Das (Guwahati, Assam/National Open School) (KUTZM) vs. S.Kapur (BSU) 6-1, 6-7, unfinished
2. M. Majchrzak (BSU) def. Juan Gutierrez (San Jose, Costa Rica/SEK International School) (KUTZM) 6-2, 6-1
3. Arijit Goswami (Kolkata, India/LSA Kolkata) (KUTZM) vs. J. Sanchez (BSU) 6-4, 5-5, unfinished
4. Rushi Amin (Orefield, PA/Lake Brantley) (KUTZM) def. V. Catlan (BSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Andrew Zhu (Toronto, ON/Northview) (KUTZM) def. D. Zivkovic (BSU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Cameron O'Donnell (Allentown, PA/Parkland) (KUTZM) def. S. Gautam (BSU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. Kaushik Das (Guwahati, Assam/National Open School)/Arijit Goswami (Kolkata, India/LSA Kolkata) (KUTZM) def. S.Kapur/M. Majchrzak (BSU) 8-6
2. V. Catlan/S. Gautam (BSU) def. Andrew Zhu (Toronto, ON/Northview)/Joel Irwin (KUTZM) 8-2
3. Juan Gutierrez (San Jose, Costa Rica/SEK International School)/Rushi Amin (Orefield, PA/Lake Brantley) (KUTZM) def. D. Zivkovic/J. Sanchez (BSU) 8-2
West Virginia Wesleyan 5, Kutztown 2
Singles
1. Mark Rosner (WVW) def. Kaushik Das (Guwahati, Assam/National Open School) (KUTZM) 6-3, 6-1
2. Alvaro Ochoa (WVW) def. Juan Gutierrez (San Jose, Costa Rica/SEK International School) (KUTZM) 6-1, 6-2
3. Arijit Goswami (Kolkata, India/LSA Kolkata) (KUTZM) vs. Danilo Franciscon (WVW) 6-3, 1-4, unfinished
4. Rushi Amin (Orefield, PA/Lake Brantley) (KUTZM) def. Yim Kim (WVW) 6-3, 6-2
5. Eduard Gusevs (WVW) def. Andrew Zhu (Toronto, ON/Northview) (KUTZM) 6-4, 6-0
6. Cameron O'Donnell (Allentown, PA/Parkland) (KUTZM) vs. Dennis Cole (WVW) 6-1, 3-4, unfinished
Doubles
1. Mark Rosner/Alvaro Ochoa (WVW) def. Kaushik Das (Guwahati, Assam/National Open School)/Arijit Goswami (Kolkata, India/LSA Kolkata) (KUTZM) 8-2
2. Danilo Franciscon/Eduard Gusevs (WVW) def. Juan Gutierrez (San Jose, Costa Rica/SEK International School)/Rushi Amin (Orefield, PA/Lake Brantley) (KUTZM) 8-3
3. Andrew Zhu (Toronto, ON/Northview)/Joel Irwin (KUTZM) def. Rob Hilton/Luis Cruz (WVW) 8-2
SOCIAL MEDIA ALERT: The Kutztown University Athletic Department would like to remind Golden Bear fans and followers there are many ways they can follow their favorite team. One can follow the Golden Bears via Facebook, SMS messages and weekly newsletters. One can also check out the photo galleries.
SMS messages are a good way to get Kutztown news no matter where one is located. One can sign up to get news from any or every sport at Kutztown. Fans will receive final scores as well as special awards and honors earned by Golden Bear teams and student- athletes. Sign up at http://www.kubears.com/member/sms_signup.aspx.
Photos are available through photo galleries from the last two years at Kutztown. Simply go to http://www.kubears.com/photo_gallery.aspx and choose which sport one would like to view. Galleries are broken down by sports, seasons and games.
The Kutztown University sports information department hopes that everyone has enjoyed all of the new ways to keep up with their favorite team. The SID department hopes people will continue to take advantage of the great resources available.
