HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 20, 2021) – In its first match in over a calendar year, the Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team opened the 2021 campaign in style, dropping just 18 total points, en route to a 9-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus in a non-conference matchup at the Stevens Tennis Courts.
Playing for the first time since Mar. 7, 2020, and for the first time at home since Feb. 29, 2020, Stevens captured all three doubles flights, while also winning all six singles matches in moving to 1-0 on the season, while FDU dropped to 0-1. The matchup is the first of two meetings between the Ducks and the Devils this season, the second of which will count towards the MAC Freedom standings, and will be contested in mid-April.
Today's contest was the first meeting between the programs since Apr. 8, 2008. Dating back to the 2003-04 season, the Ducks have won four of the last five meetings between the teams. Interestingly enough, four of the last five meetings have taken place in Hoboken.
"Today was a great day for the Ducks," said head coach
Steve Gachko. "It's been over a year since we compeed together. Today was a total team effort with all the guys earning a point for the 9-0 victory. We look forward to getting back to work on Monday and continue to improve each day."
Playing together for the first time since May 11, 2019, seniors
Keegan Morris and
Gabriel Sifuentes opened scoring with an 8-2 victory over FDU's JT Murray and Brandon Schwartz at second doubles. Juniors
Mark Pabalan and
Garrett Kincaid claimed the second victory of the day with an 8-2 victory at No. 3 doubles and junior
Marc Feliu and first-year
Aashi Kulakarni completed the trifecta of 8-2 wins with their victory over Jacob Mostoller and Zach Puccia at first doubles. The win at No.1 doubles marked the collegiate debut for Kulakami.
Playing at No. 3 singles, Feliu posted a straight-set win over Mostoller for his third consecutive singles win dating back to last season. Senior
Mark Kanevsky picked up his first victory of the year in emphatic fashion, blanking JT Murray at fourth singles for the match-clinching victory.
Kulakarni also collected a singles win in his first collegiate dual, topping Neall D'Arnado 6-2, 6-1 at second singles. Morris dropped just a single point in a straight-set (6-0, 6-1) victory over Puccia in the No. 1 position to push the Ducks' lead to seven.
First-year
Adam Borowczak made his collegiate debut, topping Brandon Schwartz 6-3, 6-0 at fifth singles and junior
Brian Li made his season debut at sixth singles, dropping only two points in besting Tyler Schacher in straight sets to provide the final margin of victory.
Up Next: The Ducks head to Reading, Pennsylvania for a non-conference matchup with Alvernia University on Mar. 27. It is believed to be the first meeting between the programs.
Please note that all event times, dates and opponents are subject to change and fans remain prohibited from attending Middle Atlantic Conference athletic events.
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