ERIE, Pa. – The Fairmont State men’s tennis team continued its historic season after securing the first NCAA Championship bid in program history following a 4-2 victory over the No. 2 seed in the region, Edinboro, in the Atlantic Region #2 Championship on Saturday (April 29) at Westwood Racquet Club in Erie, Pa.
The Fighting Falcons won the doubles point and a trio of singles matches for the victory. Kan Watanabe and Alexandre Pages teamed up to claim the No. 1 doubles match, 7-5, according to a news release. The duo of Elia Barozzi and Seena Saadevandi took down their opponents in the No. 2 doubles duel and won in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4) to swing the doubles point to the Falcons.
Saadevandi earned a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win in No. 3 singles for the second point. Alexandre Pages captured a 6-3, 6-4 victory in No. 4 singles. Mohamed El Helaly closed out the duel for the Falcons with a 7-5, 7-5 win in No. 5 singles to send the Falcons to the NCAA Championships.
The Fairmont State men’s tennis team secured a spot in the 16-team NCAA Men’s Tennis National Tournament, which is set to begin on May 11 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. Seedings and match times will be released by the NCAA when all regional matches have concluded.
Match Results
Doubles
#1: Watanabe/Pages (FAIR) def. Sabio / Polombarini (BORO), 7-5
#2: Barozzi/Saadevandi (FAIR) def. Dorval/Sneekumer (BORO), 7-6 (4)
#3: Sacchi/Acuna (BORO) def. El Helaly/Stacy (FAIR), 6-4
Singles
#1: Sabio (BORO) def. Barozzi (FAIR), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
#2: Acuna (BORO) def. Watanabe (FAIR), 6-2, 6-3
#3: Saadevandi (FAIR) def. Sneekumer (BORO) 7-6 (7), 6-3
#4: Pages (FAIR) def. Martins (BORO), 6-3, 6-4
#5 El Helaly (FAIR) def. Dorval (BORO), 7-5, 7-5
#6 Stacy (FAIR) vs. Sacchi (BORO), 3-6, 7-6 (1) (DNF)
