Release courtesy of St. Joseph's Athletics
FLUSHING, N.Y.—Powered by a pair of victories from Kevin Caicedo (Jackson Heights, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) and Nolan Parr (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook Central), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's tennis edged out Berkeley College for a 5-4 triumph in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Sunday afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The victory moves the Bears (2-6, 2-1 HVIAC) into third place in the conference just a half game behind Culinary Institute with the two squads set to square off next Saturday. The Knights (2-3, 2-2 HVIAC) fall to fourth in the standings a half a game behind St. Joseph's.
The Knights defaulted the No. 3 doubles match to the Bears, but took the No. 2 doubles match, 8-4 over Matthew Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y./) and James Hanophy (Albertson, N.Y./Holy Trinity) to tie the match at 1-1 before the Bears grabbed the lead again after doubles play with Caicedo and Parr teaming up at the top doubles spot and outlasting Thinh Nguyen and Herder Pisco in a tiebreak, 9-8 (7-3).
St. Joseph's started singles play with 3-1 lead with Berkeley defaulting the No. 6 singles match but the Knights won three close singles matches to pull ahead 4-3. Herder Pisco downed Smith 10-7 at No. 3 singles and Chubak Ulan defeated Carlos Mayorga (East Elmhurst, N.Y./St. John's Prep) 10-8 at No. 5 singles to level the match.
The next two matches finished in a tiebreak that could have swung the overall victory to either squad. Alex Maurmom edged out Hanophy at 7-4 in their tiebreaker at No. 4 singles to pull the Knights within one point of the match, but Caicedo staved off defeat prevailing 7-3 over Nguyen in their tiebreaker at the top singles position, leaving overall match tied at 4-4 and to be decided by his doubles partner Parr.
Extending his overall match winning streak to four, Parr would come through for the Bears winning 10-5 at No. 2 singles and collecting his team-leading fourth individual win of the season.
St. Joseph's will take a day off before returning to the courts on Tuesday, April 21 facing York (N.Y.) in a non-conference tilt in Jamaica, N.Y. starting at 4:30 p.m.
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Release courtesy of Berkeley College
The Berkeley College New York men's tennis team dropped a hard-fought Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Bears of St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn by a score of 5-4 in a contest that took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY. With the loss, the Knights dropped to 2-3 on the 2015 season (2-2 HVIAC), while the Bears upped their mark to 2-6 on the year (2-1 in conference play).
Berkeley College defaulted the No. 3 doubles match to St. Joseph's College, but the Knights were able to solidify a victory at No. 2, as Omar Durrani and Alex Maurmom combined to defeat the Bears' Matt Smith and James Hanophy by a score of 8-4. The Bears grabbed the lead again after doubles play as Kevin Caicedo and Nolan Parr teamed up at the top doubles spot to edge Berkeley's Thinh Nguyen and Herder Pisco in a tiebreak, 9-8 (7-3).
The Knights defaulted the No. 6 singles match, as the Bears pushed ahead in the match by a score of 3-1. Berkeley would then win three consecutive singles flights to grab a 4-3 advantage. Herder Pisco downed Smith 10-7 at No. 3 singles and Chubak Ulan defeated Carlos Mayorga 10-8 at No. 5 singles to level the match. Newcomer Alex Maurmom outlasted Hanophy at 7-4 in their tiebreaker at No. 4 singles to pull the Knights within one point of the match, but Caicedo kept the Bears alive by picking up a 7-3 win over Nguyen in their tiebreaker at the top singles position, as the match was tied at four apiece.
In a flight that would decide the match, Parr would turn back Durrani 10-5 to clinch the victory for St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn. Following the match, Berkeley College Head Coach David Eddy gave his thoughts.
"It was a difficult match for us to lose, but the student-athletes showed great determination today, and I was very proud of their grit," Eddy said. "This is a motivated group, and I believe they will continue to get better and improve themselves. We'll look to get back on track on Saturday."
The Knights will now have five days off before returning to the court on Saturday, April 25 to take on Pratt Institute in another Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. Start-time for that match is scheduled for 2:00pm.
