Firebirds Fall to NYIT in ECC Men’s Tennis Semifinals
FLUSHING, NY – The University of the District of Columbia men's tennis team was defeated, 5-1 by New York Institute of Technology in the East Coast Conference Men's Tennis Semifinals on Friday afternoon at the Queens College indoor courts.
The Firebirds (6-7) secured a win at No. 2 doubles as Second Team All-ECC selection Alexis Baguelin and partner Ander Murillo defeated David Jiang and Maxton Cook, 8-2. That win evened the match at 1-1 after a UDC No. 3 doubles loss, but the Bears went on to a narrow, 8-6 victory at No. 1 doubles to claim a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
NYIT (11-4, 4-1 ECC), the four-time reigning ECC champions but No. 2 seed in this year's tournament, went on to win three straight singles matches at No. 1, 2 and 6, respectively, and the match was halted with the decisive 5th point.
The Bears, ranked No. 32 in the nation and No. 3 in the East Region, advance to face tournament host and top-seeded Queens College tomorrow at noon.
UDC will now wait for the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Selection Show on Tuesday, April 25th at 8:30 p.m. to hear if it receives a bid to the East Regional. The NCAA Tournament takes the top-seven teams from the East Region, and the Firebirds have been ranked No. 6 in all three released NCAA Division II East Region polls.