In Oswego State’s first match of the fall season, junior transfer Alex McCarthy and freshman Brian Lyudmer were put together in the lineup at the first doubles spot. They lost the match, 8-3. But McCarthy said that after adjusting to each other’s playing styles, they started to click together smoothly, which led the pairing to win their next two matches.
Chemistry is one of the key components in tennis with doubles. For men’s tennis, it is one of the main factors that has led to another successful season in doubles and overall.
McCarthy and Lyudmer share a connection through being new players on the team. Sophomore co-captain John Stanford said with it being the first year for the both of them, they could focus on adjusting to the team together.
“By having each other to lean on… they could acclimate themselves to our team a lot quicker, which is really helpful,” Stanford said.
Having that connection in doubles is important, as the doubles plays a key role in a college tennis match. The match starts out with three doubles matches, followed by six singles matches. So if one team falls down early in the doubles matches, it is hard for them to get momentum back.
The way McCarthy and Lyudmer’s match goes has been a true stake in how the match goes for the team over coming off their second tournament win this spring, the Oswego State men’s golf team will look to fare well at this weekend’s ninth annual Laker Spring Invitational at the Oswego Country Club.
The Lakers have five top three finishes in the history of this event, with their only win coming in 2012. The only golfer that competed in that event and still plays for Oswego State is senior Kyle Brockmann, who will be part of a squad that includes juniors Dan North and Tyler Wurzer, senior Omari Howard and freshman Stuart Winn. They will represent the Lakers A-Team in the invitational.
North, who is also the captain of the team, will look to redeem himself from not being able to win the Lakers Fall Invitational last fall when he tied for second in the event. North had the opportunity to win until he missed a five-foot putt on the 17th hole for bogey. This will be North’s last time competing in the spring invitational, as he will be graduating in December.
Howard and Wurzer have been playing well as of late, with Howard coming in second in the Laker’s last event at Elmira College on Tuesday, leading Oswego State to a win overall. Wurzer came in first in Keuka College April 15, which also led to a Lakers victory. He proved that if the Lakers are going to pull out the victory, somebody from the team will need to place toward the top of the leaderboard.
Competing with the Lakers in the invitational is a group of solid teams that know the Lakers all too well, the most prominent being St. John Fisher, which is currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Ranking. The Cardinals placed first in last year’s event, and even won the fall ECACs where the Lakers placed third. However, St. John Fisher is only sending three individuals, which means they will not be competing for a chance to win the team competition.
Also competing are St. Lawrence University, Hobart College, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Cobleskill, Utica College, SUNY Canton and Daemen College. St. Lawrence University placed second last year and is led by Jack Whelan, who won the event last year. SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Canton and Hobart all return from fall invitational, finishing second, sixth and eighth, respectively.
The Oswego Country Club will provide many risk and reward opportunities for everyone involved in the two-day tournament. Tee off is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.
