For the first time in program history, the Manhattanville College men's tennis team gears up for NCAA Tournament competition. After claiming the Skyline Conference Championship last weekend, the Valiants now enter the field of 44 to crown the 2022 national champion, playing their first round match on Friday morning against Nichols College.
How We Got Here
The Valiants claimed their first-ever conference championship on Sunday, completing a perfect season against Skyline Conference opponents with a 5-4 victory over second-seeded Yeshiva University.
In their most tightly-contested match since April 13, Manhattanville went down to the wire in the Skyline Championship against the Maccabees. After earning one of the three doubles points, the Valiants were able to take four of the six singles draws to earn the match victory.
The lone doubles win for the Valiants came in the No. 2 position as the tandem of
Ryan Rosenberg (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) and
Luis Gonzalez (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) earned an 8-3 win. Manhattanville would fall in the top two singles positions, but victories in flights No. 3 through 6 allowed the Valiants to capture the crown. After dropping the first set 6-2, Gonzalez bounced back with a 6-3 second set win and a 6-4 final in the third set to take the No. 3 draw. Gonzalez was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as a result of his 4-0 stretch in the two postseason matches.
Weston Goodwin (Freeport, ME/Freeport High School) earned a 6-3, 6-4 win in the No. 4 position, while it was
Dylan Crowley (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) notching a 6-2, 6-2 victory in No. 6 Singles. In the deciding contest of the match,
Nick Schlapak (Dover, N.H./Dover) won a thriller in No. 5 Singles. After dropping the first set 7-6 following a 7-2 tiebreaker, Schlapak won the ensuing two sets by matching 6-4 scores to punch Manhattanville's ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bison are making their ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament, their first berth since 2019. Nichols earned the postseason bid following their 12
th Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship on Saturday, capping off a 16-5 regular season with an 8-0 conference mark. Nichols defeated Roger Williams 5-1 in the championship match. The Bison took two of the three doubles flights before notching wins in the No. 4, 5, and 6 singles draws to earn the victory.
All-Conference Competitors
The Valiants had three players recognized by the Skyline on All-Conference teams following the conclusion of the regular season.
James Hourihan (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) and Rosenberg received First Team accolades, while Goodwin made the All-Conference Second Team. Head coach
Alex Sandri was also selected as Co-Coach of the Year for the conference.
On the other side of the courts, the Bison bring with them nine CCC All-Conference selections. The trio of Giacomo Ghitti, Adrian Toderascu and Trevor Schwarzmann earned First Team honors, with Toderascu also earning Rookie of the Year recognition. Nichols is also led by a Coach of the Year recipient, with Cris Popa earning the distinction in his second year at the helm of the CCC champions.
Mutual Opposition
While tomorrow marks the first-ever meeting between Manhattanville and Nichols, the two programs did share a common opponent this season in Emerson College. The Bison played the Lions all the way back in the fall, earning a 6-3 non-conference win. The Valiants, meanwhile, squared off with Emerson back in March as part of the team's spring break trip in Florida. The Lions defeated the Valiants, 5-4.
At Stake
The winner advances to Saturday's match against host Williams College, who earned a first-round bye in the tournament.
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