Livingston's boys tennis team took little time to blank Columbia 5-0 on Friday.
At first singles, Thomas Caputo bested Columbia's Dylan French 6-1, 6-3. Livingston's second starter, Brandon Goldstein, had the day's most impressive performance, shutting out Adam Richardson 6-0, 6-0.
"We're very fortunate this year to have two very good players at the top of the lineup," said Livingston head coach Elliot Lovi.
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At third singles, the match was closer. After losing the first set 6-1, Columbia's Ethan Panzer battled back in the second set to make it competitive, but lost to Livingston's Eric Katcher in straight sets, dropping the second one 6-4.
Lancers Jesse Bloom and Spencer Luster, at first doubles, defeated Max Siegal and Simon Locke 6-2, 6-4. At second doubles, Kevin Sun and Curtis Chow of Livingston picked up the third and deciding point, topping Cougars Joseph Zwetchkenbaum and Venkatesh Duvurri 6-1, 6-3.
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Friday's win improves the Lancers already impressive record this season to 9-1, with the only loss coming against Millburn. The Lancers have been led by a top heavy lineup and are looking in great shape as they head into next week's county tournament.
"We're off to a good start, there's no question about it," Lovi said. "I think this team is going to improve as we go along. I think we're going to be much stronger in a few weeks."
Livingston is the third overall seed in the tournament and will face West Orange at 9:15 a.m. next Tuesday. Columbia faces Solomon Schechter at 8 a.m. in the opening round of the tournament.
