Waterloo 6, McMaster 1
The Waterloo tennis Warriors opened their 2019-20 season this past weekend with a road trip to Hamilton to play McMaster at Stoney Creek on Saturday.

Memories of last year's defeat at the hands of the Marauders were foremost on the minds of the returning players. Like last year the Warriors had to adjust to playing outdoors but unlike last year when the weather was hot and humid, this past Saturday, it was sunny and very windy. 

The outdoor conditions took some getting used to and accounted for a shaky start for most of the Warriors but with a little time, they were able to adjust.

Starting with doubles, the Waterloo rookie pair of Pavle Milic (Toronto) and Alex Oancea (Thornhill/) won their match 8-4 while Waterloo's second and third teams fought very close matches, losing one and winning the other, both by hair's width margins.  Waterloo #2 pair were last season's doubles standout pair of John Chan (Whistler/) and DJ Fenerty.  They had a quick start but at 4-1 up, their games began unraveling. Playing tentatively on key points proved to be their undoing.   Encouraged by this, their opponents began playing more aggressively and soon drew level. This had the effect of unsettling Fenerty and Chan resulting in them making more errors. In the end though, they kept it close but were not able to sustain the effort losing 7-8. A rare experience for this experienced duo.

The situation with #3 team of Eddie Wang (Richmond Hill/) and Saif Shoaib was the reverse. They were down early in the match but upped their tempo and caught up with their opponents. At one point, they were down 4-6 but playing more positive tennis, they prevailed to win 8-7 giving the Warriors two of the three doubles matches and the morale- boosting first point.

Waterloo's rookies Milic and Oancea playing at #1 and #2 respectively in the singles lineup, justified their rankings by providing Waterloo's first two singles points.  #3 Fenerty, managed to put aside his disappointment from the doubles loss to play tenacious tennis and was rewarded with a 7-6 first set win. Buoyed by having the first set under his belt, he took the second 6-4. It was a gritty performance and all credit to him for staying the course in the first set.

Other wins came from #4 Eitan Rozin (Toronto/) and #6 Josh Worme.  #5 Rookie Noah Cameron-Howe (Fredericton/) debut was against a tough opponent – like playing against a wall. It was a tough introduction but hopefully, a useful experience to further the development of this rookie's game.

Saturday's 6-1 victory went a long way to erase the memory of last season 2-5 loss.

Results

Doubles:
Pavle Milic (Toronto) / Alex Oancea (Thornhill/) bt Marko Kazar / Myles Harrison 8-4
John Chan (Whistler/) / DJ Fenerty lost to Martin Zelikovsky / Poorshad Afshar 7-8 (3)
Eddie Wang (Richmond Hill/) / Saif Shoaib  bt. Daniel Kucey / Nolan Kool 8-7 (6)
 
Singles
Milic bt Kazar 6-4, 6-3
Oancea bt Afshar 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Fenerty bt Zelikovsky 7-6, 6-4
Eitan Rozin (Toronto/) bt Hrrison 6-4, 6-4
Noah Cameron-Howe (Fredericton/) lost to Freeman Paczkowski 1-6, 2-6
Josh Worme bt Nolan Kool 6-3, 6-0

Waterloo 2, Toronto 5

The Toronto Blues came into town on Sunday and brought the Warriors back down to earth. While hosting the Blues was a change, the outcome of this year's result was no different from past years. It should be stated here that the Toronto Blues and the Western Mustangs are the perennial top two Ontario university teams.  

The Warriors were hoping for a happier result this year but it was not to be. The bright lights again for the Warriors the past weekend were the rookies Pavle Milic (Toronto) and Alexander Oancea. They went undefeated in both doubles and singles. Unfortunately no other Warrior was able to follow suit and the two singles wins were the only two points gained on Sunday. Credit to Milic for his efforts battling it out for a win in three sets while being under the weather.

While no other wins were achieved, the scores were closer than in past years.  A small but genuine consolation.

All credit to the Blues – they look to be contenders for the OUA title again this year.

The Warriors are at home next weekend to York on Saturday and Brock on Sunday. Matches are played at the Waterloo Tennis Club.

Results

Doubles- Pavle Milic (Toronto) / Alex Oancea (Thornhill/) bt Nathan Wong/Rassam Yazdi  8-6
John Chan (Whistler/)/Eitan Rozin (Toronto/) lost to Alec Luchak/Eric Cherniy   2-8
DJ Fenerty/Saif Shoaib lost to Michael Chu/ Daniel Foxcroft  4-8

Singles:
Milic bt Wong 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
Oancea bt Yazdi 6-2, 7-5
Eddie Wang (Richmond Hill/) lost to Cherniy  2-6, 2-6
Rozin lost to Luchak  4-6, 4-6
Shoaib lost to Foxcroft  5-7, 3-6
Noah Cameron-Howe (Fredericton/) lost to Foxcroft   4-6, 4-6