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APRIL 29, 2007PORTONOVA WINS THIRD STRAIGHT MAC SINGLES TITLE, TEAMS WITH HOJSACK TO REPEAT AS DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
Results at: http://www.moravian.edu/athletics/tennis/2007MASCAC/index.htm.
WILKES-BARRE -- King's College men's tennis standout Mike Portonova (left) made history when he became just the second player to win three Middle Atlantic Conference singles titles as the MAC Championships concluded Sunday at Kirby Park.
Portonova defeated fourth-seeded Jonathan Stanley of Messiah College 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) to win his third straight MAC title at the number-one flight. Portonova reached the final with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over third-seeded Ian Box of Moravian in the semi-final round on Sunday morning.
As a junior, Portonova improved to 22-1 on the year while increasing his three-year career-record to an astounding 71-2.
In the process, he became the first player to win three MAC individual championships since Tim Cross of Swarthmore College won four straight from 1952-55. No other player has won as many as three MAC titles. James Predmore of Swarthmore won twice in 1966 and 1967, while Scranton's Clay Yeager won a pair of MAC titles in 1995 and 1996.
The Monarch standout will likely not return for a chance at a fourth straight title as he is expected to graduate from King's early with plans on enrolling in medical school.
Portonova also picked up another MAC title when he teamed with junior Nick Hojsack (right) to win a second straight conference doubles championship in the top flight.
Despite winning the 2006 MAC championship, Portonova and Hojsack entered the 2007 tournament seeded third. After advancing through the first two rounds on Saturday, the Monarch duo reached the finals with an 8-4 triumph over top-seeded Jon Stanley and Nate Ipsen of Messiah College on Sunday morning.
In the finals, Portonova and Hojsack would claim their second straight title with an 8-4 decision over Vikram Rao and Jon Pivor of Drew University to complete the season with a 17-3 record.
"We are very proud of what Mike and Nick have accomplished during the course of their careers,:" King's coach Bill Eydler stated. "Mike's record and accomplishments speak volumes about the type of competitor he is and what he has done at King's has been unprecedented. Nick has really worked hard to become a better player during his career and now he can call himself a two-time MAC champion."
King's also had one doubles team finish second while two other Monarch players advanced to the semi-finals in singles before falling.
In doubles, senior Matt Dunne and sophomore David Kaluzavich reached the finals of the third flight in doubles where they dropped a hard-fought 8-6 verdict to Jason Nolt and Sam Shorts of Messiah. The pair reached the finals after posting a 9-7 triumph over Jonathan Skoner and Jau Feixas of Juniata.
In other singles semi-final action, King's third-seeded junior David Boe fell by a 6-2, 6-2 margin to second-seeded Jared Zeigler of LVC in the number-five flight. Kaluzavich also fell in the semi-finals by a 6-1, 6-0 count to third-seeded eventual champion William Tannis of Messiah in the number-six flight.
The event puts an end to an outstanding season for the King's tennis team as the Monarchs finished the year with a 15-6 record and placed second in the MAC Freedom Conference Team Tournament.
"It has been a great year for us as a team and I am extremely proud of all our players for the effort they have given each time we went out on the court," Eydler added. "We had an excellent MAC tournament as well and that really put the icing on the cake and wrapped up a wonderful year."
King's coach Bill Eydler congratulates Mike Portonova after the Monarch standout won a third straight MAC singles championship. Portonova finished the year with a 22-1 singles mark while upping his career record to 71-2.
Coach Eydler congratulates two-time MAC doubles champions Nick Hojsack (left) and Mike Portonova after the Monarch tandem won the number-one flight for the second straight season.
Coach Eydler congratulates Matt Dunne (left) and David Kaluzavich after the Monarch duo finished second in the number-three flight of the MAC doubles championships.
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