Flushing, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Tennis team advanced to its third straight East Coast Conference Tournament Final with a 4-0 shutout victory over the University of the District of Columbia in the semifinal round on Friday afternoon at the Queens College Tennis Center.
No. 2 seeded STAC improves to 16-7 on the year, while UDC closes its 2021-22 campaign at 5-12.
STAC opened things up with a dominant performance in doubles play, taking two matchups to secure the team doubles point. The duo of Odysseas Papaioannou and Maximilian Kendler cruised to a 6-0 victory at No. 3, followed by the pair of Eduard Simo and Ludovico Truffelli taking a 6-3 win at the No. 1 position.
Once the Spartans secured the doubles point, there was no turning back. St. Thomas Aquinas jumped right into singles play, taking the first three matches from the Firebirds to secure the win and advance to Saturday's championship. Ivan Laiz started the victory spree in the No. 6 slot, taking a 6-0, 6-1 victory. Ludovico Truffelli followed the trend taking a 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the No. 5 slot to give the Spartans a commanding 3-0 lead and put UDC on the ropes, facing elimination. Lennart Lehmann delivered the final knockout blow in the No. 3 position, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win to end the postseason contest.
