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West Windsor, NJ -- The storylines are set for NEC Tennis Championship Sunday, and they are compelling to say the least.
After the top two seeds won on both the men's and women's sides in today's semifinals, the third and final day of play tomorrow at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, NJ will feature a pair of longtime powers and a pair of teams aspiring to hoist the NEC trophy for the first time.
The top-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn men showed their resolve when tested by fourth-seeded LIU, grinding out a 4-2 victory to put the Terriers in a position to win their first league title. To do so, they will have to beat out two-time defending champion and second-seeded FDU, which posted an impressive 4-0 win over third-seeded Sacred Heart.
For the women, top-seeded LIU rolled to a 4-0 win over an upstart St. Francis Brooklyn team coming off the program's first ever NEC Tournament victory on Friday. The Sharks will face a second-seeded Sacred Heart squad that advanced to its first-ever NEC final with a 4-0 victory vs. third-seeded FDU.
St. Francis Brooklyn had its hands full with a rising LIU men's program in its second year of existence. After the Terriers won the doubles point, #1 Jan Godfrey Seno (6-3, 6-3) and Assil Boussayri (6-4, 6-3) put SFBK on the precipice of victory, but LIU battled back with Ales D'Anna scoring a 6-4, 6-3 win at #4 singles and Gui Medeiors earning a 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-3 triumph at the #6 spot. The clinching point was won by SFBK's Habib Stambouli, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, to send the Terriers to their second final in three years.
FDU appears to be peaking at the right time in pursuit of a 15th NEC championship. The Knights took the doubles point, and Arjun Sriiram followed with a 6-1, 6-0 win at #4 singles. After 2021-22 NEC Player of the Year Mehdi Dhouib followed with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at #3 singles, FDU was just one match away from the final. Freshman Gryffin Minor obliged with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 at the #6 position that clinched the win.
St. Francis Brooklyn and FDU previously met in the 2021 NEC final, a classic see-saw affair that saw the Knights pull out a 4-3 victory.
The women's matches featured a change of scenery as only the FDU-Sacred Heart doubles teams managed to play outdoors before lightning stuck in the area and the matches moved indoors.
The LIU women looked as strong as ever in their conquest of SFBK. The top half of the Sharks' lineup did the job as #1 Victoria Erecthchenko (6-4, 6-3), #2 Leo Boisseau (6-2, 6-2) and #3 Saki Oyama (6-1, 6-1) all won in straight sets to send LIU to its fifth title tilt in six years. The Sharks won four straight conference championships from 2017-21 before their reign ended last year.
Sacred Heart was in top form on its path to its first-ever Championship Sunday appearance. With the doubles point in hand, All-NEC performer Katsiaryna Starastsenka made it 2-0 following a 6-4, 6-3 win at #1 singles. Olivia Kharkover rallied to win a first set tiebreaker at #3 singles, then took the second set, 6-1, to bring the Pioneers one step closer. Looking to close things out, Vitalina Gold went to three sets with FDU's Amina Lasheen before claiming a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 victory in the clinch match.
The three-day event marks the 22nd straight year the tournament is being contested at the award-winning Mercer County Parks facility.
You can follow all the action on Championship Sunday on Twitter (@nectennis).
The two winners will go on to represent the NEC in the upcoming NCAA Championships.
2023 Northeast Conference Tennis Championships
at Mercer County Tennis Center
West Windsor, NJ
Friday, April 14
Men's First Round
#2 FDU def. #7 Saint Francis U, 4-0
#3 Sacred Heart def. #6 Merrimack, 4-0
#4 LIU def. #5 Wagner, 4-0
Women’s First Round
#2 Sacred Heart def. #7 Wagner, 4-0
#3 FDU def. #6 Merrimack. 4-0
#5 St. Francis Brooklyn def. #4 Saint Francis U, 4-0
Saturday, April 15
Men’s Semifinal Matches
#1 St. Francis Brooklyn def. #4 LIU, 4-2
#2 FDU def. #3 Sacred Heart, 4-0
Women’s Semifinal Matches
#1 LIU def. #4 St. Francis Brooklyn, 4-0
#2 Sacred Heart def. #3 FDU, 4-0
Sunday, April 16
Men’s Championship Match - 10:00 am
#1 St. Francis Brooklyn vs. #2 FDU
Women’s Championship Match - 1:00 pm
#1 LIU vs. #2 Sacred Heart