Philadelphia — The NYIT men's tennis team is off to the round of 16 at the NCAA championships for a fifth straight season.
The third-seeded Bears swept singles play and defeated second-seeded Chesntut Hill, 5-2, on Sunday in the second round of the East Regional to advance to the May 9-12 final rounds in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The Bears next will face Hawaii Pacific, the West Region's top seed.
Rafal Charkiewicz overcame weekend back spasms and rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the second set to close out the victory against the host Griffins. Charkiewicz won at first singles against Pierre Kohler, 6-4, 7-5.
The Bears avenged a 6-3 loss at Chestnut Hill during the regular season on March 24.
Trailing 2-1 after doubles competition on Sunday, things took a decided turn for the positive when NYIT won all six first sets in singles play.
David Jiang won at fourth singles over Lucas Bocaletto, 6-1, 6-2, to officially even the match at two apiece. Jorge Gonzales Soler at sixth singles and Alexandre Martinez at fifth singles then won in rapid succession to put the Bears within one match of victory.
With his teammates surrounding the court, Charkiewicz then clinched the match.
Soler had returned to action this weekend for the first time since the fall.
"It's a great feeling," Charkiewicz said. "We had lost to this team during the season, and I was down 5-2. I saw their courts having a tough time (with NYIT's other players). I just kept playing how I was playing before, and I managed to win. It feels great — as a senior especially."
Provided by the NYIT Sports Information Department.
