NCAA Championships Begin on Wednesday, May 18.
MANSFIELD, Mass. - Le Moyne and Southern New Hampshire - who are just 10 days removed from competing against each other in the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Tennis Championship - are heading southbound after winning their regional sites and advancing to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla., which begins on Wednesday, May 18. Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission will serve as host.
The Dolphins (22-1), who won the NE10 Championship, are in the midst of a 22-match winning streak, which has led them to their first-ever trip to the Round of 16. For SNHU (11-2), it is the second time that the program has reached the Round of 16 in the past four years (also 2019).
The opponents for Le Moyne and SNHU will be announced by the NCAA on Wednesday, May 11, after each of the remaining 16 teams are reseeded and placed in the championship bracket.
No. 1 Le Moyne 4, No. 5 STAC 1 - Box Score
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 29th-ranked Le Moyne men's tennis has earned its first-ever berth in the NCAA Championships round of 16 with a 4-1 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas at the NCAA East Regional on Tuesday afternoon at Drumlins Tennis Club.
With the victory, the Dolphins will now compete in the NCAA Championships in Altamonte Springs, Florida starting on Wednesday, May 18. The team's opponent will be announced by the NCAA once all 16 berths have been claimed on Tuesday.
"It was a huge win today at Drumlins for the men with our first-ever qualification for nationals," said head coach Jeff Lonczak. "Hats off to STAC, first and foremost, as it's an honor to compete against (coaches) Matt (Capell), Dan (Rockhill) and Neil (Tarangioli). I've always strived to be in the same stratosphere that the Concordia teams (where Rockhill and Tarangioli coached before the school was purchased by Iona last year) occupied the past 25 years. Hopefully some day we can achieve that level of success. As for today, we had key wins across the board from seniors, grad students and freshman alike. It was a true team effort. We're excited for the opportunity to compete nationally in the greater Orlando area."
Le Moyne (22-1) claimed the point in the doubles competition for the 21st straight match. Graduate student Manuel Righi and freshman Peter Hatton edged Valentin Baranyi and Tony Khamassi 7-6 (7-3) at the second spot to even the competition at one. Fifth years Jared Howard and James Howard clinched the point with a 6-4 victory at the third position over Maximilian Kendler and Odysseas Papaioannou.
The Dolphins, who have won 22 consecutive matches, captured the necessary three points while only dropping one in the singles competition. At the second position, Righi tallied a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Kendler to improve to 18-0 on the year. Hatton picked up his 16th win of the season and put the Dolphins up 3-1 by registering a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory at the fourth position over Papaioannou. Junior Kacper Piekarek clinched the match for the Dolphins with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Truffelli at the fifth spot for his team-leading 20th win of the year, which is the second-most by a Dolphin over the last 20 years. Jarry and Miller were each leading in the third set after splitting their first two sets.
We're heading to Florida for the NCAA Championships!! We recorded singles wins at #2, #4 and #5 to clinch our 22nd consecutive victory, 4-1, over St. Thomas Aquinas. #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/1wVWi5bsb6
— Le Moyne Men's Tennis (@LeMoyneMTennis) May 10, 2022
No. 2 SNHU 4, No. 3 Queens (NY) 3 - Box Score
HOOKSETT, N.H. - For the second time in program history, Southern New Hampshire men's tennis advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 after a 4-3 victory over third-seeded Queens (NY) on Tuesday. The Penmen (11-2) were led by Thomas Guy, who won at No. 2 singles and teamed up with Jonathan Berling for a win at No. 1 doubles, and Emmanuel Vacalares, who was victorious at both No. 3 singles and doubles.
Facing a 3-2 deficit, SNHU stormed back to take the final two singles matches and punch its ticket to the Round of 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Guy beat Mariano Bibiloni at No. 2 singles, 7-6, 6-3, while Vacalares defeated Lucas Demuth in three sets - 4-6, 7-6, 6-1. Fernando Torres was provided the other singles win for SNHU at No. 4, edging Omar El Shehawey in three sets, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.
SNHU won the doubles point with wins at No. 1 (Berling and Guy) and 3 (Vacalares and Stastny), starting the match with a 1-0 lead.
In a back-and-forth NCAA regional final match, @snhu_tennis rallied from 3-2 down to capture a 4-3 win and advance to the NCAA Championship Round of 16. It's the teams second-ever trip to the round of 16. pic.twitter.com/ShksBXx93E
— SNHU Athletics (@snhupenmen) May 11, 2022
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
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