WEST WINDSOR, NJ (Apr. 20, 2024) – No. 1 Fairfield University and No. 2 Quinnipiac University advanced to the title match of the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday at Mercer County Park Tennis Center in West Windsor, New Jersey. Fairfield defeated No. 4 Rider University 4-1, and Quinnipiac picked up a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 3 Marist College to move into the championship final. Sunday’s dual will be the first time the two Connecticut rivals meet in the men’s finale.
 
No. 1 Fairfield - 4 | No. 4 Rider - 1
Mercer County Park Tennis Center | WEST WINDSOR, NJ
Score Sheet
 
Top seeded Fairfield advanced to the title match by way of a 4-1 win over Rider in the first semifinal match of the day. The Stags opened the tournament by winning the doubles point with victories at the #1 and #2 doubles to secure the early lead. At the top flight, Tom Smart and Sam Hodges defeated Cooper Dillon and Ibragim Turgambekov (6-1), while Nick Condos and Will O’Brien topped Stavros Hadjivarnava and Jake Grimes (6-3) at the number two spot to claim the doubles point. The Stags would secure the next two points, going up 3-0 following #1 singles when Smart beat out Matthew Griscti (6-2, 6-3) and #2 singles with Hodges knocking off Dhruv Tangri (6-2, 6-4). Rider’s lone point would be earned at #4 singles by way of a Roger Martinez victory over Keean Shah (5-7, 6-4, 6-3), cutting the Bronc’s deficit to 3-1. Fairfield closed out the semifinal match with a win by Condos against Nathan Slattery (6-4, 2-6, 6-4) at #3 singles. Fairfield is back in the championship match for the third time in four years and seeks its program’s sixth trophy, having last won the men’s tennis crown in 2012.
 
No. 2 Quinnipiac - 4 | No. 3 Marist - 3
Mercer County Park Tennis Center | WEST WINDSOR, NJ
Score Sheet
 
The day’s final match went all the way down to the wire, with Quinnipiac edging Marist 4-3. The doubles match finished in order, with the Red Foxes taking a 1-0 lead in comeback fashion. After Quinnipiac’s combo of Daniel Velek and Shaurya Sood beat Jose Catala and Alejandro Casteneda (6-4) in the #1 spot, Marist would rally to take the next two doubles. The Red Foxes would even doubles at 1-1 following #2, with a 7-6 (6) win from Nick Suhanitski and Tomas Gomez over Finn Burridge and Carlos Braun-Simo where Marist’s duo won the tiebreak after trailing 6-2. The doubles point was clinched at the #3 spot by Marist via another tiebreak, with Alex Thompson and Oliver Thoeny beating Donovan Brown and Ayato Arakaki 7-6 (5) to give the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead heading to singles. Quinnipiac took a 2-1 advantage, completing the first two singles matches. In the #1 position, 2024 MAAC Player of the Year, Velek made quick work of Catala (6-1, 6-3), and then Burridge followed knocking off Suhanitski (6-1, 6-4). Marist regained the lead, going up 3-2 with back-to-back wins. At #4 singles, Casteneda claimed a 6-3, 6-2 win versus Braun-Simo, followed by a 6-2, 6-1 triumphed at #3 from Thompson against Sood. The Bobcats knotted things up at 3-3 with a 6-3, 6-3, win at #6, coming by way of Brown over Gomez. The deciding match ended with Quinnipiac’s Arakaki getting by Marist’s Thoeny (6-2, 6-7, 6-4) at #2 singles. The win for Quinnipiac propelled the team to its program’s fourth overall championship title match, the first since 2022, where they will seek their first ever MAAC trophy.
 
The 2024 MAAC Men's Tennis Championship final will take place tomorrow, Sunday April 21 at 2:00 p.m. with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
For all information regarding the 2024 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 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, 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. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
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