WEST WINDSOR, NJ (Apr. 21, 2024) – No. 2 Quinnipiac University claimed the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Tennis Championship title on Sunday afternoon at Mercer County Park Tennis Center in West Windsor, New Jersey. The Bobcats defeated Connecticut rival, No. 1 Fairfield University, 4-2, en route to the program’s first ever MAAC Championship.
 
No. 2 Quinnipiac – 4 | No. 1 Fairfield - 2
Mercer County Park Tennis Center | WEST WINDSOR, NJ
Score Sheet
 
The match began with a trio of high intensity doubles matches, that ended with Fairfield securing the doubles point. The Stags picked up wins with Luca Benaibbouche and Kostas Kollias beating Donovan Brown and Ayato Arakaki (6-2), and Nick Condos and Will O’Brien defeating Finn Burridge and Carlos Braun-Simo (6-4), at the number three and number two spots, respectively. Despite dropping the doubles point, Quinnipiac shifted the momentum and won three straight singles matches, giving the Bobcats a commanding 3-1 lead in the championship finale. At the number three spot, Shaurya Sood handled Condos (6-0, 6-2) to knot the meeting at 1-1. Next, Braun-Simo took down Keean Shah by a score of 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-0 at #4 singles, to give Quinnipiac a 2-1 edge. Lastly, in the number five position, Burridge pulled out a 6-3, 7-6 (8) victory over Kollias to extend the advantage to 3-1. Fairfield continued to battle and would cut the deficit to 3-2, earning a win at #1 singles in upset fashion with Tom Smart defeating 2024 MAAC Player of the Year Daniel Velek, 6-4, 7-6 (10), handing Velek his first setback to a MAAC opponent this season. The championship for Quinnipiac would be clinched by Brown at #6 singles, claiming a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 triumph over Griffin Schlesinger.
 
Quinnipiac’s overall record improved to 14-10 on the season. The win for the Bobcats avenged their lone conference defeat of the season and it also snapped the Stags 11-match winning streak that dated back to March 5.
 
Saturday’s hero, Arakaki, who scored the match sealing victory in the semifinals round, was named as the 2024 Most Outstanding Performer.
 
Quinnipiac will earn the MAAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship. The Bobcats will find out their opponent and match time on Monday, April 29 at 6:00 p.m. during the Division I Men’s Tennis Selection Show on NCAA.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 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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