WEST WINDSOR, NJ (Apr. 23, 2022) – No. 1 Monmouth University and No. 3 Quinnipiac University each advanced to the final of the 2022 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men's Tennis Championship presented by VisitNJ on Saturday afternoon. This will be the third time the two sides clash for a MAAC crown since both joined the league in 2013-14.
 
Top seeded Monmouth advanced to the title match by way of a 4-0 win over No. 4 Niagara University. The Hawks started the match by winning the doubles point with victories by Niels Van Noord and Charlie Penman at the No. 1 spot (6-2) and Dmitry Bezboradov and Gabe Busato at the No. 2 spot (6-1). Monmouth would claim the next three singles points to take the match. The Hawks went up 2-0 following No. 3 singles when Victor Castro topped Tanner Bedard (6-1, 6-2). The third point came via a retired match at No. 6 singles due to injury from Niagara’s Eduardo Villalpando. He was defeated by Monmouth’s Trent Maasan (6-1, 5-2). The Hawks closed out the match when Van Noord knocked off Trevor Masi (7-5, 6-2) at the No. 1 spot. Monmouth makes its eighth straight championship title match appearance and will be seeking its sixth consecutive MAAC crown on Sunday.
 
Third seeded Quinnipiac took down No. 2 Siena College in comeback fashion to conclude the round. Just one week after the Saints beat the Bobcats 5-2, Quinnipiac avenged the defeat, earning a 4-3 victory in the semifinals. Siena took a 1-0 lead after doubles, winning in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Dante Russo and Tomas Del Olmo won 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. Quinnipiac would take No. 2 doubles 6-3, with a win from the pair of Ayato Arakai and Donovan Brown. The Saints would clinch the doubles point at the No. 3 with Jose Davila and Mathis Tremblay getting a 7-6(6) win. In singles action, Quinnipiac would tie the match at 1-1 following a No. 6 singles win in straight sets by Brown over Tremblay (6-1, 6-3). The Saints would claim the next two points, taking a 3-1 lead after getting wins at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots. Needing to win all three remaining spots to take the match, the Bobcats did exactly that with Alester Magalit edging Siena’s Davila at No. 4 singles to make it 4-2. After losing the first set 7-6(5), Magalit recovered to win the next two sets by an identical 6-4 score. At the No. 1 spot, Arakai took the first set 7-6 for the Bobcats before Russo won the second set 6-2 for the Saints and Arakai would claim set three 6-1 to tie the match at 3-3. The No. 2 spot would become center stage as the winner would help his team advance to the final. Quinnipiac’s Javier Casasolas took the first set, winning 7-6(3); then he dropped the second set 6-2 to Del Olmo, before finally taking the match 7-6(4), earning the final point for the Bobcats in the match and propelling the team to the title match. Quinnipiac is seeking its first MAAC crown, having advanced to the finals twice before in 2016 and 2019, losing to Monmouth both times.
 
The 2022 MAAC Men's Tennis Championship presented by VisitNJ final will take place on Sunday April 24 at 2:00 p.m.
 
All information regarding the 2022 MAAC Men's & Women's Tennis Championships presented by VisitNJ, can be found on maacsports.com.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 41st year of competition during the 2021-22 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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