ALFRED, NY – Hartwick battled back to win 5-4 victory over Alfred on Saturday. The Hawks, who have now won three straight dual matches, improve to 7-5 overall and 3-3 in the Empire 8.
The pressure was on the Hawks as Alfred took all three doubles matches to start the day up 3-0. The Hawks took over in singles play winning five of six matches to edge the Saxons.
Jeff Boyd (West Newbury, MA/Pentucket Reg.), Marcelo Navarro (San Juan, Puerto Rico/American Military), Sean Barr (Scarsdale, NY/Edgemont), and Mike del Rosario (Troy, NY/Stamford) all won in straight sets for the Hawks. Boyd won 6-3, 6-3 in first singles, Navarro won 6-2, 6-4 in the second spot, Barr earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory in third singles, and del Rosario came away with a 6-4, 6-4 decision in the sixth flight.
Peter Dumas (Albany, NY/Colonie) needed a third and deciding set to claim a win in third singles and give the Hawks the team victory. After taking the first set 6-4 against Alfred's Nathan Garletts, he dropped the second in a tie-breaker 7-6 (7-5). Dumas responded, however, in the third set with a 6-3 win.
Boyd, Navarro, Dumas, Barr, and del Rosario each have won three straight matches for the Hawks, who face a crucial match against RIT tomorrow in Rochester. Both the Tigers and Hawks will be 3-3 in E8 play with two conference matches left. The winner would put itself in great position for the fourth and final conference playoff spot.
