The Stevens men’s tennis team finished out their regular season with a bang, and proceeded to win the MAC Championships 5-0 this Sunday against FDU-Florham. The final match of the regular season played out on April 19 at the Stevens Tennis Courts, and it ended with a 9-0 shutout against DeSales University. This win secured their spot in the semifinal round of the MAC Freedom Tournament, where they won against King’s College with a 5-0 sweep, as well as securing the MAC Freedom regular-season title, with an impressive 7-0 conference record.
In the match against DeSales, the three doubles flights went in favor of the Ducks. At first doubles, sophomore Olof Persson and junior Aashi Kulakarni had an 8-6 win, marking their ninth consecutive win. At second doubles, sophomore Vivek Harinarayan and first-year Max-William Kanz also won their ninth straight match with an 8-4 win. Additionally, sophomores Sebastian Wroe and Troy Zhang had an 8-3 win at third doubles.
The singles flights followed suit, with just as much success as the double flights. At first singles, Kulakarni won with set scores of 6-0 and 6-1. At second singles, Harinarayan won with set scores 6-2 and 6-1. At third singles, junior Andrew He won with set scores 6-3 and 6-1, and at fourth, Kanz won with set scores 6-2 and 6-0. At fifth singles, Wroe won with set scores 6-3 and 6-0, and at sixth singles, first-year Timothy Lau won with set scores 6-1 and 6-0.
Following this match, the Ducks played in the semifinals in the MAC Freedom Tournament, played at Braddock Park in North Bergen, NJ on April 25. Stevns defeated Kings College in a 5-0 sweep, allowing the Ducks to advance to the MAC Freedom Championship.
Again, the Ducks won the three doubles flights. Persson and Kukakarni won at first doubles with a score of 8-3, increasing their winning streak to ten. At second doubles, Harinarayan and Kanz won with a score of 8-0, also bringing their winning streak to ten. Additionally, Wroe and Zhang won with a score of 8-0 at third doubles.
After such an impressive performance in the doubles flights, the Ducks only needed two wins in the singles flights to win the match, since the teams play the first to five. Wroe was able to secure a win at fourth singles with set scores of 6-1 and 6-0. At sixth singles, Zhang earned the winning point with set scores of 6-0 and 6-0.
After winning the semifinals, the Ducks advanced to the MAC Freedom Championship held on April 29. The team is the two-time reigning conference champions, and this the program’s third-straight appearance in the conference championship.
In the championship matchup, the Ducks won all three of the doubles matches, including Persson and Kulakarni, Harinarayan and Kanz, and He and Zhang all winning by margins of 8-2. Only needing two more matches to clinch the championship title, sophomore Matt Luzzi locked in a victory by scores of 6-0 and 6-1. Lau earned the final point for the Ducks with victories of 6-0 and 6-0. Stevens had leads in three of the other four singles matches that ended unfinished.
This victory means that the Ducks have won every championship all three years that the team has been a part of the MAC conference. Up next, the Ducks will play in the NCAA Tournament, with all aspects of the match to still be determined.
