By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: J.D. Cavrich Photography
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The 2014 season has been the most successful in program history for the Juniata College men's tennis team. The Eagles set a new record for wins in a singles season (16) and stormed through 16 straight matches with a win before suffering the first loss of the season on the final day to Gettysburg College. Juniata posted a perfect 7-0 Landmark Conference record to earn the No. 1 seed in the post-season tournament for the first time. The Eagles will host No. 4 seed Moravian College in semifinals action Wednesday, April 23, at 3 p.m. on Raffensperger Tennis Courts.
Moravian earned the No. 4 seed with a 4-3 conference mark and an 8-9 overall record. The two teams last met April 2, in Huntingdon in the closest match for Juniata all year. The battle between the two teams took over six hours and came down to the No. 5 singles match between Moravian's Giovanni Lombardi and Juniata sophomore Mike Lifshitz (Worcester, Mass. / Worcester Academy). Lifshitz dropped the opening set 2-6 before rebounding to take the second set 7-5. The match had to be relocated on the change over between sets two and three because of the fast approaching night fall. Lifshitz took set three 6-2 to give Juniata the 5-4 win.
The sophomore has posted a 12-3 record at the No. 6 singles position and has won seven of his last 10 matches. Senior Justin Wisniewski (Moorestown, N.J. / Moorestown) is 17-0 this year. He has set a new program record for career victories (49) and posted the only undefeated-in-conference mark for the Eagles. Wisniewski and sophomore Bryan Gregory (Glen Mills, Pa. / Garnet Valley) finished the season 17-7 as a doubles pair and 5-2 in Landmark play.
Lifshitz and senior Elliott Perow (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon Area) have been the most dominant pairing for Juniata posting a 6-1 league record and a 14-2 overall record. Perow is riding a four match win streak and has put together a 15-7 record in his final season with a 5-2 mark against Landmark opponents. Freshman standout Dean Polisena (Adelaide, Australia / Saint Ignatius) has amassed a 16-6 overall record this year in single play and is 15-2 at the No. 1 position. He and sophomore Logan Moore (Chadds Ford, Pa. / Unionville) are 8-7 together at the No. 1 doubles position and 9-7 overall. Moore is riding a seven-match win streak and is 15-0 at the No. 5 singles position.
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