April 1, 2008

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure men's tennis will enter this weekend's Atlantic 10 Tournament as the fifth seed in the 12-team field at the Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa., announced Monday by the league office.

The Bonnies will open the tournament against 12th-seeded Fordham on Friday, April 4 at 8 a.m. The winner will advance to take on fourth-seeded Duquesne in the quarterfinals later that day at 2 p.m.

No stranger to postseason success, the Bonnies have finished in the top three of the A-10 Tournament in five of the last seven seasons under head coach Mike Bates, including championships in 2001 and 2003. Last spring, the Brown and White finished fourth, falling to eventual-champion Charlotte in the semifinals.

St. Bonaventure casted a little revenge on the 49ers earlier this spring, defeating the conference's preseason favorite, 4-3, in Charlotte. Since then, the Bonnies have struggled, going 3-11 in its spring portion of 2007-08.

Despite its recent struggles, St. Bonaventure's lineup is chalk-full of talented youngsters, who will be on full display this weekend. The Brown and White's projected starting lineup doesn't feature a senior.

Juniors Victor Lecina, Jonathan Luce and Leo Mochizuki will be making their third A-10 Tournament appearances. The trio has spent most of the season alternating in the top three spots of the team's singles lineup. Both Luce and Mochizuki picked up wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles against Charlotte earlier in the season, while Luce was 3-2 in doubles play against conference foes in the spring. Lecina has been the team's top singles player the last five matches.

The rest of the Bonnies' ammunition comes in the form of four underclassmen, highlighted by three freshmen. The lone sophomore and 2007 A-10 All-Conference selection Diego Valdenegro enters the weekend having won three-straight singles matches and six of his last eight. Freshmen Chris Post and Mikhail Sudakov have been with the team since the start of the fall campaign, compiling a combined 17 singles wins between the No. 3 and No. 6 slots. A mid-season addition, freshman Enric Larregola has made an immediate impact and recently earned the conference Rookie of the Week honors. Larregola is 5-5 in singles action since joining the team and is fresh-off a 2-0 week.