ANNANDALE-ON HUDSON, N.Y. — The Bard Men's Tennis team (0-2, 0-2 Liberty League) took on Vassar College (1-0, 1-0) on a hot and sunny Friday afternoon.

Bard managed to remain competitive in the matches, forcing Vassar to deuce with their strong defensive performance.

At No. 1 doubles, Thanasis Kostikas/Faisal Jones were able to take a game off of Fernando Bauermeister/Henry Zhang, winning the majority of points when Kostikas landed his first serve.

At No. 2 doubles, Asher Henry and Yashar Khan were able to withstand an onslaught of attacks from the Brewers duo of James Balon/Arnav Agostinho despite the scoreline.

The Raptors No. 3 doubles team of George Miahkov/Ciaran Chamberlain faced strong serve and return play from Pedro Cattaruzzi/Joseph Braun. Bard won eight points, including a backhand volley winner by Chamberlain set up by Miahkov's slice serve.

Kostikas played at the No. 1 singles spot, where he faced off against the Brewers' Zhang. 

Jones lost at No. 2 singles to Agostinho, competing in both sets and winning a game in the second set. The 2023-24 Liberty League Academic award winner was able to find a rhythm on his second serve, but wasn't able to take down Agostinho.

At No. 3 singles, Khan faced Balon. Bard's senior captain was able to gain traction on many points. However, the play from the Brewers' senior was too difficult to overcome.

At No. 4 singles, Henry lost to Braun in a match up of the first years. While Henry kept up with Braun in most extended rallies, the shorter points went to Braun, deciding the match.

Ciaran Chamberlain made his Raptor debut at No. 5 singles, making Cattaruzzi work for the win. Chamberlain's highlight of the match was a well-disguised drop shot, which went for a winner.

The Raptors are hoping to build on each performance this season. They'll have their next match on September 22nd against the reigning Liberty League Champions RPI.