HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 17, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team will host Vassar College this afternoon at 4 p.m. The Ducks, ranked No. 13 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Men's Rankings for the Northeast region, will be looking to knock of the No. 12-ranked Brewers for their sixth win in the last seven matches.

Vassar enters the match just 6-11 on the season, including a seven-match losing streak in February and another four-match skid that just ended with a 9-0 sweep of Hobart College on Saturday.  Several of Vassar's losses have been at the hands of nationally ranked teams, most recently including No. 19 Amherst College (8-1) and No. 5 Williams College (9-0).

The Brewers are fronted by the No. 5 singles player in the region in senior Andrew Guzick, who just moved above .500 (9-8) at first singles this spring.  Guzick is likely to face freshman Matthew Heinrich (Hendersonville, Tenn.), who will be looking to avenge a quarterfinals loss (7-5, 6-0) to Guzick in the ITA Northeast Regionals in the fall.   

The Brewers have recently had to shake up their lineup in the absence of second-singles mainstay senior Dan Freeman, with senior Nick Jasso (4-10 at third singles) taking his place and going 1-1 over the last two matches.  Freshman Daniel Cooper has moved to third singles and posted a 2-1 record, while freshman Christian Phelps (1-3), senior Josh Kessler (1-1) and freshman Evan Udine (3-3) round out the order at fourth, fifth and sixth singles.

Guzick and Cooper are expected to take the court at first doubles with Jasso and Udine pairing up at #2 and Phelps and Kessler holding down #3.  Guzick and Cooper have formed a much more successful pairing than Guzick and Freeman had, going 7-2 since joining forces, while the Jasso/Udine team is 1-1 and Phelps/Kessler have gone just 1-5.

Stevens enter the match 8-6 this spring, with all six losses coming to national top-27 programs and No. 9  Middlebury College on the horizon this Saturday.  The Ducks have started Empire 8 Conference play a perfect 4-0, including a pair of 9-0 sweeps and two 8-1 victories, with a tight 6-3 loss at No. 27 Skidmore College coming in the interim.  

The Ducks have also recently shaken up their lineup, with Heinrich – the No. 15 singles player in the Northeast – taking over at first singles and posting a spotless 3-0 record thus far, while Rosensteel – ranked No. 8 in the region – has gone 2-1 at second singles.  Senior Shota Tasaki (Greenwich, Conn.) has moved up to third singles and gone 2-1, with freshman Ben Foran (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) stepping down to fourth singles to post a pristine 2-0 record.  The Ducks have rotated freshman Tyler Tisdale (Grapevine, Texas) and junior Derek Smith (Boise, Idaho) between fifth and sixth singles, giving Tasaki and Foran occasional rests in the doubleheaders; Tisdale is 3-0 at fourth singles and 4-7 at fifth singles while Smith has gone 3-0 at fifth and 2-5 at sixth singles.

Stevens will be expecting to jump out to an early lead after doubles play, as Heinrich and Rosensteel form the No. 3-ranked tandem in the region and have posted an incredible 12-2 record at first doubles.  Foran and Tasaki are a formidable duo at second doubles as well, having gone 8-4, while Smith and Tisdale have also posted a winning record (4-2) at third doubles.

The teams will clash at 4 p.m. at the CPA Tennis Courts.