GENEVA, N.Y.--The Hobart College tennis team battled valiantly tonight in the Bristol Field House dropping a gut-wrenching 4-3 decision to the University of Rochester. The Yellowjackets are ranked 23rd in the nation and sixth in the Northeast Region in the latest ITA rankings. The Statesmen are 15th in the Northeast.

Rochester swept all three doubles matches to capture the first point of the evening.

Hobart rebounded in a marquee matchup in first singles featuring two regionally ranked opponents. Statesmen junior Peter Piné (Princeton/Princeton, N.J.), ranked 23rd, won in three sets over No. 16 junior Avinash Reddy (Madras, India) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 18 senior Dan Williford (Pittsford, N.Y.) took second singles in straight sets for Rochester, but sophomore Adam Raffa (Concord-Carlisle/Concord, Mass.) evened the match with an upset of No. 11 junior Partha Bhattacharya (Delhi, India) 7-6 (3), 6-3 at third singles.

Hobart first-year Matt Silver (Weston/Weston, Conn.) won fourth singles in straight sets, while the Yellowjackets' sophomore Eric Prince (Penfield, N.Y.) won fifith singles in an epic battle with junior Colman Currie (St. George's School/London, England), 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-2.

Tied 3-3, the match came down to sixth singles, where first-year Michael Lee (Muenster, Ind.) topped sophomore Matt Jacobus (South Burlington/South Burlington, Vt.) 7-6 (6), 6-1.

Hobart returns to action at 1 p.m., on March 27, at Clarkson.

--HWS SPORTS--