WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (September 10, 2022) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis team saw all 11 of its entrants advance in their respective flights Saturday on the opening day of the 2022 Middle Atlantic Conference Individual Championships, hosted by Wilkes University and King's (Pa.) College. All matches were contested at the Ralston Athletic Complex at Kirby Park.
The Ducks were the top seed in all six of the seeded singles flights and in each of the three seeded doubles flights. The field at both seventh singles and fourth doubles were not seeded. The Ducks advanced to the semifinals in 10 of the brackets and to the final in the 11th Although this is just the third MAC Individual Championship event for the program, the Ducks rank third in conference history with 13 singles titles and third with eight doubles crowns.
On the singles side, junior
Andrew He dropped just six games across two matches at first singles to advance to the semifinal round, where he'll face unseeded Logan Gregory of King's. He is in search of his second individual medal after claiming the title at fourth singles in 2021.
First-year
Timothy Lau was impressive in his first two matches at second singles. The Kinnelon, New Jersey native dropped just two games on the day, winning by identical 6-0, 6-1 margins. He'll face Messiah's fourth-seeded Connor Rose in the semifinals.
In search of his second MAC individual title, senior
Philip Szkudlarski did not drop a game in either of his first two matches at third singles, winning both via 6-0, 6-0 decisions. The Belle Meade, New Jersey native will meet unseeded Evan Stelman of York in the semifinals.
After an opening-round bye, first-year
Max-William Kanz did not drop a point in topping FDU-Florham's Jacob Mostoller to reach the semifinals at fourth singles in his first MAC event. Kanz will meet DeSales' Mark Sherrill in the semifinals.
After winning the championship at third singles in 2021, sophomore
Sebastian Wroe advanced to the semifinals at fifth singles in his search for another gold medal. The Westfield, New Jersey native received an opening-round bye and then defeated DeSales' Ethan McCombs 6-0, 6-0 to advance in the tournament. He'll face King's Nick Harth Sunday for a spot in the final.
After winning a doubles crown in his debut season, sophomore
Troy Zhang began his quest for a singles title with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Grant Hafner at sixth singles. The Los Angeles, California native began his tournament with an opening-round bye.
Junior
Kyriacos Petrou made his collegiate singles debut in the seventh singles flight and defeated York's Hayden Musser 6-0, 6-1 before blanking DeSales' Brent Holzman 6-0, 6-0 to reach the semifinals.
On the doubles side, the Ducks dropped a total of eight games across the four doubles flights. Sophomore
Olof Persson and junior
Aashi Kulakarni posted identical 8-2 victories to reach the semifinals at first doubles. The duo took gold at No. 2 doubles in 2021.
After an opening-round bye, sophomore
Vivek Harinarayan paired with Zhang to post an 8-2 win at second doubles over Stevenson's Lukas Sanidas and Garrett Warren in their only match of the day. They'll meet unseeded Josh Gingerich and Johnathan Baker from Messiah in Sunday's semifinal.
Lau and Kanz paired together for the first time and scored an 8-2 victory over FDU-Florham's Kelvin Liwag and Karanveer Siani at third doubles after receiving an opening-round bye. They'll meet unseeded Sathwik Madasi and Niko Bifsas from Stevenson in the semifinal round.
The Ducks' final entrants in the event were at fourth doubles, where He and Wroe advanced to the championship with an 8-0 victory over DeSales' Alessio Flores and Brent Holzman. They'll meet Stevenson's Simeon Smith and Nathan Davidson for the gold medal.
Up Next: Men's tennis will compete in the semifinals Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m. The event was originally scheduled to begin one hour later, but was moved up due to projected rain in the afternoon forecast.
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