Air Force Academy

The Air Force Academy men's tennis team lost its dual match opener of 2006, 4-3, to UC Riverside Sunday in Poway, Calif.

Air Force won the No. 1 doubles match, but the Highlanders took the other two to capture the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead. Air Force seniors Shannon Buck and Trevor Johnson, ranked No. 11 in the country, defeated Mark Contreras and Christian Frick, 8-4, at the No. 1 spot. UCR's No. 2 team of Justin Montgomery and Norman Tam beat AFA's Justin Lau and Robby Alexander, 8-4, while Joe Cartledge and Bobby Tam clinched the doubles point for UCR with an 8-6 win over Keith Cronican and Ryan White at No. 3.

The two teams split the six singles matches, with Air Force winning the top three matches and UCR taking Nos. 4-6. Buck, ranked 15th in the country in singles, downed Norman Tam, 6-0, 6-2, at the top spot. Johnson won at No. 2 in three sets, defeating Contreras, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, while Lau handed Montgomery a 7-5, 6-2 loss at No. 3.

The Highlanders rolled through the other three singles matches, beginning with Cartledge, who beat Alexander, 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot. Bobby Tam followed suit at No. 5 with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over Cronican and Frick clinched the team match by defeating Greg Ferry, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6.

The Falcons are back on the court on Monday, Jan. 16 against Point Loma Nazarene.

UC Riverside 4, Air Force 3

Singles1. Shannon Buck (AFA) def. Norman Tam, 6-0, 6-22. Trevor Johnson (AFA) def. Mark Contreras, 6-4, 0-6, 6-43. Justin Lau (AFA) def. Justin Montgomery, 7-5, 6-24. Joe Cartledge (UCR) def. Robby Alexander, 6-0, 6-35. Bobby Tam (UCR) def. Keith Cronican, 6-0, 6-26. Christian Frick (UCR) def. Greg Ferry, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles1. Buck/Johnson (AFA) def. Contreras/Frick, 8-42. Montgomery/N. Tam (UCR) def. Lau/Alexander, 8-43. Cartledge/B. Tam (UCR) def. Cronican/Ryan White, 8-6