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Somerset, NJ -- On a sun soaked afternoon, the Bryant men and Fairleigh Dickinson women shined brightest on Championship Sunday at the 2016 NEC Tennis Championships. The top-seeded Bulldogs became the third men’s team in league history to three-peat, beating third-seeded Saint Francis U, 4-0. After winning three straight women’s titles from 2012-14, the second-seeded Knights reclaimed their perch atop the NEC with a thrilling 4-3 win over top-seeded Bryant. It marked the fourth title in five year for FDU. The championship event, for the 16th straight year, was contested at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, New Jersey.
Playing against a rising Saint Francis U team competing in its first-ever NEC final, the Bryant men received brilliant performances from three underclassmen who will form the team’s nucleus in the coming years. After taking the doubles point, sophomore Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, CO/Discovery Canyon Campus) delivered his second straight dominating performance at #3 singles, winning 6-2, 6-0. Classmate Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) once again delivered from the #6 position, posting a 6-1, 6-3 triumph for his team-leading 13th victory of the season. With the other three singles matches all close, freshman Mike Plutt (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win at #4 to set off a raucous celebration of current and former Bulldogs in attendance.
The women’s title tilt was another in a long line of instant classics in the tournament’s history. Bryant took the doubles point, and went up 2-0 after sophomore Stefanie Arroyo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Catolico Notre Dame) claimed a 6-0, 6-0 win at #6 singles. The Knights came storming back at this point, winning the next three matches. Senior Nicole Chis (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) was a 6-3, 6-0 victor at #1, junior Shreya Pasricha (New Delhi, India/Amity International School) won 6-3, 6-0 at #4, and sophomore Katarina Pavlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Srednja Skola Dositej) posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the #5 flight. Bryant sophomore Linnea Sjoberg (Stockholms Ian, Sweden) evened the match at 3-3 in a three-setter (6-1, 5-7, 6-2) over FDU’s Gisela Castany (Barcelona, Spain), setting the stage for the deciding match between Bryant junior Marion Bouillin (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines) and FDU freshman Liza Rachenko (Kharkiv, Ukraine/Private Boiko School) at the #3 flight. Bouillin won the first set, 6-4, but Rachenko came storming back to take the second set, 6-1. Rachenko went up 4-1 in the decisive third set, but Bouillin rallied to within 5-4. With Bouillin looking to even the match on serve, Rachenko came up with the break to send the trophy back to Teaneck with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
The Bryant men and FDU women will now go on to represent the NEC in the upcoming NCAA Championships in mid May.
2016 Northeast Conference Tennis Championships
at Mercer County Tennis Center
West Windsor, NJ
Friday, April 22
Men’s Quarterfinals*
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson 4, #7 St. Francis Brooklyn 0
#3 Saint Francis U 4, #6 Mount St. Mary’s 0
#5 Wagner 4, #4 Sacred Heart 3
* #1 Bryant received bye
Women’s Quarterfinals
#1 Bryant 4, #8 St. Francis Brooklyn 0
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson 5, #7 Mount St. Mary’s 0
#3 Sacred Heart 4, #6 Wagner 0
#4 Saint Francis U 4, #5 LIU Brooklyn 3
Saturday, April 23
Men’s Semifinal Matches
#1 Bryant 4, #5 Wagner 0
#3 Saint Francis U 4, #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 2
Women’s Semifinal Matches
#1 Bryant 4, #4 Saint Francis U 0
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson 4, #3 Sacred Heart 0
Sunday, April 24
Men’s Championship Match
#1 Bryant 4, #3 Saint Francis U 0
Women’s Championship Match
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson 4, #1 Bryant 3