WEST WINDSOR, NJ (Apr. 22, 2023) – No. 1 Fairfield University and No. 3 Siena College advanced to the title match of the 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday afternoon at Mercer County Park Tennis Center in West Windsor, New Jersey. The Stags shutout No. 4 Marist College 4-0, while the Saints earned a 4-3 come from behind win over No. 2 Quinnipiac University.
 
No. 1 Fairfield 4 | No. 4 Marist 0
Mercer County Park Tennis Center | WEST WINDSOR, NJ
Score Sheet
 
Top seeded Fairfield advanced to the title match by way of a 4-0 win over No. 4 Marist College in the first semifinal match. The Stags opened the tournament by winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to secure the point. At the top flight, Johnathan Olive-Blanco and Tolunay Sumer defeated Dylan Friedman and Nick Suhanitski (6-2), while Alex Aguiar and Kaya Gore topped Paolo Flores and Alex Thompson (6-3) at the number three spot to claim the point. The Stags went up 2-0 following No. 4 singles when Sam Hodges topped Nick Suhanitski (6-0, 6-2) to begin singles action. At No. 1 singles, Olive-Blanco beat Friedman (6-2, 6-3) to put Fairfield ahead 3-0 in the match. The Stags clinched the match at the No. 3 spot, with Sumer knocking off Tomas Gomez (6-4, 6-2) to give the top overall seed the 4-0 shutout win. Fairfield is back in the championship match for the second time in three years and seeks its program’s sixth trophy, having last won the men’s tennis crown in 2012.
 
No. 3 Siena 4 | No. 2 Quinnipiac 3
Mercer County Park Tennis Center | WEST WINDSOR, NJ
Score Sheet
 
For the second consecutive year, the semifinal matchup between Quinnipiac and Siena came down to the wire, with the third ranked side coming away with a comeback victory yet again. Last year, Quinnipiac came back from being down 3-1 to take the match, but this year, it was Siena who came away as the victor, erasing a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3. The Bobcat took a 1-0 lead after doubles, edging the Saints 2-1. The Siena combo of MAAC Player of the Year, Dante Russo, and MAAC Rookie of the Year, Edward Vo, combined to defeat Quinnipiac’s Shaurya Sood and Kemel Karagozoglu (6-1) in the No. 1 spot. The Bobcats would even doubles at 1-1 following No. 2, with a 6-3 win from Ayato Arakiki and Donovan Brown over Agustin Suarez and Matt Nardone. The doubles point was clinched at the No. 3 spot by Quinnipiac via a tiebreak, with Andreas Whalen-Merediz and Csanad Nyardadi beating Jose Pablo Davila and Tomas del Olmo 7-6 (8-6) to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead heading to singles. Quinnipiac would gain a 2-0 advantage after No. 3 singles, with Sood beating Suarez (6-2, 6-3). Quinnipiac would then take a commanding 3-0 advantage with another win, this time at No. 2 singles in the form of Whalen-Merediz earning the win over del Olmo (6-1, 6-3). Trailing 3-0, Siena would have to win the remaining singles matches. The rally began with a victory at the No. 6 singles position, with Andrea Moro beating Csanad Nyardadi (6-2, 6-4) to put the Saints behind 3-1 and get on the scoreboard. Then, Davila snuck by Brown (7-5, 6-4) at No. 4, to cut the match to 3-2. The Saints would knot the match up at 3-3 with the conclusion of No. 1 singles, when Russo toppled Arakiki (6-2, 7-6), forcing the contest to be decided by the last remaining match. The deciding match, which came by way of the No. 5 singles, ended with Siena’s Vo getting by Quinnipiac’s Karagozoglu (6-2, 6-7, 6-1). The win for Siena was the first in its program’s history in the semifinal round, and the Saints will be making their first ever trip in the title match.
 
Fairfield and Siena will vie for the 2023 MAAC Men's Tennis Championship trophy tomorrow morning, Sunday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. for the right to be called MAAC Champions and claim the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
For all information regarding the 2023 MAAC Men's & Women’s Tennis Championships, please visit maacsports.com/tennis.
 
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 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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