ITHACA, NY – The Ephs went 1-2 in their first test of the year, the Cornell round robin. After falling to Cornell and Western Ontorio, they came back to defeat Dickinson in a decisive 8-1 victory.
On Friday, the Ephs lost a 9-0 match to Cornell. One bright spot in this match was senior Jamie Ruggiero's hard fought 5 game match with Cornell's Andrew Muran. First year Claude Smith also put up a solid four game performance in his first collegiate match.
Next up, the Ephs faced Western Ontario, with whom the team has gone back and forth with over the past few years. Despite big wins from junior Mason Elizando, senior John Shuck, and first year Claude Smith, the Eph men dropped the other 6 matches to lose 3-6.
John Shuck was proud of his performance, but was quick to point out the importance of Claude Smith's win in his second college match. He said, "Claude looked like a seasoned veteran out there. I mean, he really stepped up to the plate and got the job done."
The team did a good job bouncing back against Dickinson, with an 8-1 win. The Ephs only loss came at the #1 spot, with senior Jamie Ruggiero pulling out with an injury. The Ephs 8 wins came from senior John Shuck, junior Mason Elizando, sophomores John Fitzgerald, Neel Jain, Will Ruggiero, and first years Will Means, Carl Shuck, and Claude Smith.
After the match Eph head coach Zafi Levy said, "Really positive weekend for the team. We were very close to beating western on Saturday but had three close losses in the 5th. We will learn from that loss and get better."
