Buckley combined for a win at  No. 2 doubles and then forced a match tiebreaker at No. 4 singles today. (PHOTO BY Denise Archetto)

Skyhawks edged out for final playoff spot on NE10 tiebreaker

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (April 15, 2017) – Stonehill College's season came to a close on a tiebreaker after dropping an 8-1 decision its regular season finale at Adelphi University, ranked No. 8 in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, in Northeast-10 Conference men's tennis action at AU Tennis Courts this afternoon.

Junior Matteo Cannavera (Quartu Sant'Elena, Italy) and postgrad Uladzislau Litvinchuk (Brest, Belarus) led four double-winners for Adelphi. The duo combined for a tight 9-7 win at No. 1 doubles to clinch a 2-1 Panthers edge after doubles play before sweeping the six singles matches. Cannavera, ranked No. 6 in the most recent Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region singles rankings, followed that up with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles against Stonehill junior Thomas Bellio (Saint Joseph, Michigan/Saint Joseph). Litvinchuk posted a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles over junior Nikolay Lisichenok (Danvers, Massachusetts/Danvers).

Sophomore Connor Dove (Baldwin, New York/Long Island Lutheran) and freshman David Robres de Vecia (Barcelona, Spain) were also double-winners for Adelphi, while senior Roey Heymann (Old Bethpage, New York/Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK) and freshman Sabin Adrian Saveluc (Bacau, Romania) collected singles wins for the Panthers.

Junior Tom Buckley (Hebron, Connecticut/RHAM) and freshman Manu Ravichandrakumar (Chennai, India/Saddlebrook Prep (Fla.)) teamed up to earn Stonehill's point with their 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles over Heymann and Saveluc.. Buckley also forced a third set tiebreaker at No. 4 singles against Saveluc, falling 7-5, 0-6, 10-3.

Adelphi (9-4, 7-2 NE-10) will be seeded third in next week's NE10 Tournament and host sixth seeded Assumption College (5-5, 4-5 NE10) in first round action on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Assumption edged out Stonehill (6-9, 4-5 NE10) for the final spot in the NE10 Tournament by way of its head-to-head win over the Skyhawks earlier this week. 

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.