ECAC Open Brackets 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After some inclement weather cleared, Fairfield began its defense of its two-straight ECAC Open Championship crowns by finishing the opening day of play in a three-way tie for first place.

In the Flight One quarterfinals, freshman George Laffey (Basking Ridge, N.J.) defeated Oneonta's Matt Steinhauser, 7-5, ret. Laffey will take on Delaware's Austin Lungacre in tomorrow's semifinals.

Also advancing to tomorrow's semifinals was sophomore Ryan Berthod (White Plains, N.Y.), a gold medalist last year. Berthod picked up the 6-4, 6-2 win against Jared Rosenberg of Oneonta. Berthod will face Delaware's Sam Barrer in the semifinals.

In the quarterfinals of Flight Four, junior Chip Palumbo (Winchester, Mass.), a gold medalist last season, moved one-step closer to repeating the task. He defeated Tim Gillan of Moravian, 6-1, 6-2. Palumbo is set to face Lehigh's Robbie Bolcar in tomorrow's semifinals.

In Flight Two, rookie Rob Ferrante (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) captured the back draw with a 6-0, 6-0 decision over Moravian's Chandler Forman. In the quarterfinals, Ferrante was edged by Lafayette's Lee Konjanis, 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles play, seniors Balazs Szikla (Budapest, Hungary) and Glen Gannon (Chatham, N.J.) advanced to the semifinals with a dramatic 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 victory against Delaware's duo of Barrer and Camilo Perez. The Fairfield pair will face Loyola's Doug Alban and Matt McDaniel in tomorrow's semifinals.

Fairfield is currently tied with Colgate and Delaware for first place while host Lehigh stands in fourth. This year, 10 teams, including six Division I and four Division III schools, are competing in the two-day championship. In 2006, Fairfield edged Vassar 12-8 to take home its second consecutive championship. Three Stags took home gold medals while one captured a silver.

Fairfield will wrap up play at the ECAC Open Championships tomorrow.