Denver, Colo. - The No. 33 NYIT men's tennis team concluded their 2016 campaign with the program's first appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at the Division II Festival, hosted by Metro-State University-Denver. After taking a narrow 5-4 decision in the first round, the Bears fell to No. 2 Armstrong State 6-1, to finish the season at 21-4. This ties the program record for wins set in 2013-14 when the men made it to the Round of 16. The Pirates will continue on to the NCAA Semifinals where they meet top-ranked Saint Leo on Friday.
Armstrong State collected all three doubles matches to take a commanding 3-0 lead heading into singles play. NYIT dropped 8-3 decisions to the #10 duo in the country at first doubles and third doubles. The pair at the second flight in Alexandre Martinez and Tomas Lieb were up against the #12 team according to the ITA rankings, and were ahead but ultimately fell 8-6, as the Bears went into singles action down 3-0.
It only took two wins in singles for the Pirates to capture the win and advance however that didn't happen before Matej Selecky upset #21 Otakar Lucak 6-1 and 6-4 at second singles. The Pirates got a quick 6-0, 6-4 win by No. 5-ranked Gor over David Jiang at No. 1 singles and Alberto Casas clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Martinez at No. 6 singles to send the Pirates into the semifinals. Luca Cerin was in the middle of his match point at No. 3 singles against Rafal Charkiewicz at the time of the clinch, however it can count towards the score according to official rules.
The Bears conclude at 21-4 overall with their fourth straight East Coast Conference Championship title and NCAA berth, and the program's first Elite 8 appearance.
Provided by the NYIT Sports Information Department.
