This afternoon marked the final home match for senior captain Gerard Tierney, pictured with his mother, Mollie. (PHOTO BY Jenn Tenczar) |
Panthers sweep singles after Skyhawks win two of three doubles matches
EASTON, Mass. (April 23, 2016) – Adelphi University, ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Regional rankings, swept all six singles matches to defeat Stonehill College, 7-2, in Northeast-10 Conference men's tennis action inside the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex this afternoon.
Despite the setback, Stonehill (9-9, 5-5 NE-10) locked up the sixth and final spot in this week's Northeast-10 Tournament by way of its head to head victory over Assumption College during the regular season. The Skyhawks will visit third-seeded Adelphi (8-5, 7-2 NE-10) for a quick rematch in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to Friday's semifinal round at second-seeded Merrimack College.
Senior Uladzislau Litvinchuk (Brest, Belarus) and sophomore Matteo Cannavera (Quartu Sant'Elena, Italy) were both double-winners to lead Adelphi to its third straight win to close out the regular season. The duo earned the Panthers' lone doubles point with their 8-5 victory at No. 1. Cannavera, the 13th-ranked singles player in the East Region by the ITA, led the singles sweep with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over Stonehill sophomore Thomas Bellio (Saint Joseph, Michigan/Saint Joseph) at the top flight. Litvinchuk registered a 6-2, 6-0 decision at No. 2 singles against sophomore Nikolay Lisichenok (Danvers, Massachusetts/Danvers).
Junior Roey Heymann (Old Bethpage, New York/Plainview-Old Bethpage) clinched the decisive fifth point for the Panthers with his 2-6, 6-0, 6-4 comeback win at No. 5 singles against sophomore Jeffrey Gagnon (Providence, Rhode Island/The Wheeler School). Seniors Sander Brenner (Port Washington, New York/Paul D. Schreiber) and Sebastian Zapata (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Heights) as well as freshman Daniel Khodosh (Roslyn Heights, New York/The Wheatley School) also earned singles wins for the Panthers.
Stonehill held a 2-1 advantage after doubles play with a pair of tiebreaker decisions. Freshmen Michael Doody (Franklin, Massachusetts/Mount Saint Charles Academy) and Dimitri Vlassov (Marblehead, Massachusetts/Marblehead) posted the Skyhawks first point with their 9-8 (7-5) win at No. 3 against Brenner and freshman Connor Dove (Baldwin, New York/Long Island Lutheran). Lisichenok and junior Joan Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/St. Joseph School) edged Zapata and Heymann 9-8 (7-5) at No. 2.
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