NEC Release
Updated Bracket
FDU vs. QU Results

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's tennis team will be looking for back-to-back Northeast Conference titles after defeating No. 3 seed Quinnipiac, 4-1, in a hard-fought semifinal match on Saturday at the Mercer County Tennis Center. With the victory, the Knights improve to 8-7 on the season, while the Bobcats end the year with an overall record of 9-12.

FDU, who is the No. 2 seed, will play top-seeded Bryant for the NEC title and the right to move on to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights are the reigning conference champions but fell in their meeting with the Bulldogs earlier this season back on Feb. 15. Bryant defeated FDU, 4-3, as the match was the first for the Knights in their spring season and was also their only conference defeat.

In the semifinals, FDU took an early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles' point after three tough matches. The Knights No. 2 duo of seniors Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School) and Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho) defeated Sebastian Barbero and Luke Roser, 8-5, before senior Yuri Gricheno (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim) and freshman Julien Philppe were narrowly defeated at No 3 by Eric Ambrosio and Chris Nelson, 8-6.

The doubles' point came down to the match at No. 1, and sophomore Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School) and senior Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House) came up big for FDU, as the tandem were 9-7 winners over Fahoum Fahoum and Garrett Lane.

In singles actions, the Knights extended their lead to 2-0 when freshman Markus Sjoberg (Tyreso, Sweden/Varmdo Gymnasium) won in straight sets over Alex Lazerowich, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6. However, the next three matches were decided in three sets.

Skvarka was defeated at No. 5 by Lane, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the two FDU victories that clinched the match, Shams and Gricheno both had to rally from a set down at No. 2 and No. 3 to give the Knights' the match victory. Shams, who lost the first set, 6-3, came back to win, 6-1, 6-4, over Fahoum, while Gricheno, who was shutout 6-0 in the opening set, rallied at No. 3 for a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Ambrosio.

Hemy was a game away from winning in straight sets at No. 4, while Berzins was a game away from winning the second set at No. 1 after dropping the first set.

Sunday's NEC Tournament championship match is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.