Dolphins Hold Off Penmen to Clinch Title.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Graduate student Manuel Righi earned Most Outstanding Player honors after earning the clinching point as the 29th-ranked and top-seeded Le Moyne men's tennis team won its second-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a 4-3 victory over 54th-ranked and second-seeded Southern New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at the Skytop Tennis Courts.
By virtue of winning the conference championship, the Dolphins (21-1) earn the NE10's automatic bid in the NCAA Championships. The field for the DII men's tennis championship will be announced on Tuesday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET on NCAA.com. In each of the three NCAA East Region rankings, the Dolphins have been ranked first.
"It was an amazing victory today for the men," said head coach Jeff Lonczak. "The 21st in a row was the most difficult. Credit to SNHU for coming out poised to battle. The doubles point was the biggest key for the day as we've said all season that no one in our region can win more than three singles against us. It came down to a battle of graduate students at second singles as Manuel Righi finished the job for the 'Phins today. He was chosen most outstanding player of the tournament and that honor was well deserved. As exciting as it was and how well-deserved our celebration was, we still have more work to do to accomplish our ultimate goal. We're looking forward to that opportunity at regionals next week."
The Dolphins opened the match by winning the point in the doubles competition for the 20th straight match. Righi and freshman Peter Hatton picked up the victory at the second position, 6-2, over Fernando Torres and Cade Nadeau. The Penmen evened doubles and one win apiece as Jonathan Berling and Thomas Guy recorded a 6-4 win at the first spot over graduate student Tom Jarry and junior Ethan Miller. Fifth years Jared Howard and James Howard clinched the point with a 6-2 victory at the third position over Emmanuel Vacalares and Boris Stastny.
Berling, the NE10 Player and Rookie of the Year, earned the first singles win of the match with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the first position over Jarry to even the match at one apiece. The Dolphins regained the lead as junior Kacper Piekarek recorded a 6-3, 6-1 win at the fifth spot over Stastny for his team-leading 19th victory of the season. Torres briefly tied the match at two apiece by rallying for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win at the fourth position over Hatton. Miller put the Dolphins up 3-2 in the match by recording his 16th win of the year, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), at the sixth spot over Nadeau. Vacalares rallied at the third position to defeat Jared Howard in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to force the seventh and deciding point. Righi opened the match at the second spot with a 7-5 win over Guy before dropping the second set, 2-6. Righi closed out the match with a 6-2 win in the third set.
- Recap provided by Le Moyne athletic communications -
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Manuel Righi, Le Moyne *
Peter Hatton, Le Moyne
Ethan Miller, Le Moyne
Fernando Torres, SNHU
Emmanuel Vacalares, SNHU
Pietro Sole, Adelphi
Felipe Carvalho, Franklin Pierce
*Most Outstanding Player
ELITE 24 AWARD
Kacper Piekarek, Le Moyne
NE10 Men's Tennis Championship
- Le Moyne (7-0)
- Southern New Hampshire (6-1)
- Adelphi (5-2)
- Saint Michael's (3-4)
- Franklin Pierce (3-4)
- Bentley (3-4)
Tuesday, April 26th
First Round
Match 1: #3 Adelphi 4, #6 Bentley 0
Match 2: #5 Franklin Pierce 4, #4 Saint Michael's 1
Thursday, April 28th
Semifinals
Match 3: #2 Southern New Hampshire 4, #3 Adelphi 1
Match 4: #1 Le Moyne 4, #5 Franklin Pierce 0
Saturday, April 30th
Championship at Highest Remaining Seed
Match 5: #1 Le Moyne 4, #2 Southern New Hampshire 3
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.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
