The Berkeley College New York men's tennis team picked up a big victory Wednesday evening, defeating Webb Institute by a score of 6-3 in a contest played on the Webb Institute campus in Glen Cove, NY. With the victory, Berkeley improved its record to 3-7 on the season (2-1 HVIAC), and clinched a home match in the semifinal round of the 2016 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament. The semifinal round match-up will feature the No. 2 seeded Knights hosting the No. 3 seeded Warriors of Vaughn College tomorrow at 7:00pm at Queens College.
Berkeley College jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the match following doubles play, as the Knights solidified victories at the No's 1 and 3 flights. Webb Institute avoided a sweep in doubles competition by nailing-down a win at No. 2. At No. 1 doubles, the Knights' combination of Victor Marotta and Kazuki Suzuki silenced Kevin Prichard and Andrew Vogeler 8-0. Berkeley claimed victory at No. 3 doubles when Sebastian Rousseau and Andrea Massignani turned back Webb's Brent Hill and Taylor Campbell, 8-3. Webb won the No. 2 flight when Nick Ratinaud and Abi Thomas outlasted the Knights' Alexander Maurmann and Rajah Ulrich Mopoundza, 10-8.
When play switched over to singles, the Knights won four of the six sets to account for the 6-3 final score. At No. 1 singles, Marotta silenced Mike Walker, 10-1. Suzuki solidified a victory at No. 2 by turning back Glenn Burnett 10-0. At the No. 5 flight, Rousseau dominated Henri Champigneulle, winning by a score of 10-2, and it was the Massignani winning at No. 6, defeating Seth Jones 10-3. Webb's two victories came at No. 3 (Jon Hale over Maurmann, 10-8) and at No. 4 (Prichard over Mopoundza, 10-7).
With the regular season now in the books, the Knights will now set their sights on repeating as Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions. Should Berkeley College defeat Vaughn tomorrow evening, the Knights would then advance to play in the championship on Sunday morning against either No 1. Seeded Culinary Institute of America or No. 4 seeded Webb Institute. For full coverage and recaps of all 2016 HVIAC Men's Tennis Tournament contests, keep it posted to www.berkeleycollegeknights.com.
