Weather shortened Butler's season opener but not before several Bulldogs posted strong efforts at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational in Illinois.
 
Originally scheduled as a two-day event, Friday's later matches were suspended due to darkness, and rain canceled Saturday's title rounds.
 
Freshman Alex Borbiu went 2-0 in the fourth flight of singles in his Butler debut; he was scheduled to play in the flight's championship match prior to its cancellation.
 
Classmate Shane Hand, also making his Bulldog debut, won his only completed match in the third flight of singles.
 
Ronin Kasday (No. 2 singles flight) and Nicholas Shirley (fifth flight) both split a pair of singles matches.
 
Each of Butler's four doubles teams went 1-1 on the weekend: Riccardo Baldi and Hand (first flight), Borbiu and Shirley (second flight), Kasday and Wes Worobel (third flight), and Arnesh Singh and Nicholas Balthazor (fourth flight).
 
The Bulldogs were joined in the field by BIG EAST foes DePaul and Marquette, as well as Drake, UIC, Washington, Western Michigan and host Northern Illinois for the River Forest Collegiate Invitational.
 
Singles:
#1 Flight - Riccardo Baldi: 0-1
#2 Flight - Ronin Kasday: 1-1
#3 Flight - Shane Hand: 1-0
#4 Flight - Alex Borbiu: 2-0
#5 Flight - Nicholas Shirley: 1-1
#6 Flight - Arnesh Singh: 0-1
#6 Flight - Nicholas Balthazor: 0-1
 
Doubles:
#1 Flight - Baldi and Hand: 1-1
#2 Flight - Borbiu and Shirley: 1-1
#3 Flight – Kasday and Worobel: 1-1
#4 Flight – Balthazor and Singh: 1-1
 
The Bulldogs continue the fall portion of their schedule this weekend, traveling to the WMU Vredevelt Invitational hosted by Western Michigan. Play begins Friday and runs through Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich.