The Berkeley College New York men's tennis team capped its inaugural season in dazzling fashion on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights captured the 2015 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title - scoring a total of 16 points on the day to solidify the crown. Berkeley held off stiff competition from Culinary Institute of America, as the Steels finished as the runners-up with 14 points. Pratt Institute took third place (12 points), St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) notched fourth (six points), and Vaughn (four points) and Webb Institute (three points) claimed fifth and sixth, respectively.
The Knights' performances in the three doubles tournaments proved pivotal, as Berkeley recorded six out of a maximum nine points during that stage of the competition. The Knights' combination of Omar Durrani and Sebastien Rousseau outlasted St. Joseph's Brooklyn's pair of Nolan Parr and Kyle Johnson 8-7 (7-3) in the finals to capture the No. 2 flight. In the No. 3 doubles bracket, Berkeley's Alexander Maurmom and Chubak Ulan pushed all the way to the finals before being defeated by Pratt's Nick Miniciello and Shane Davis, 8-4. Despite that, the Knights added two points just for reaching the finals of that bracket. At No. 1 doubles, Thinh Nguyen and Herder Pisco accounted for one point.
In singles competition, the Knights notched 10 out of a maximum 18 points. Berkeley solidified two points at each of the No's 2, 3, 4, and 5 singles brackets, and one point apiece in the No's 1 and 6 brackets. Nguyen (No. 2), Pisco (No. 3), Rousseau (No. 4), and Maurmom (No. 5) each made the finals of their flights, while Durrani (No. 1) and Ulan (No. 6) tallied one point apiece in singles play. Following the conclusion of play, Berkeley College Head Coach David Eddy spoke upon learning that his team had scored enough points to claim the HVIAC title.
"From the very beginning of this season, I think our student-athletes wanted it to be known that we weren't going to be content with just participating," Eddy said. "They wanted to compete for a conference championship, and now they've reached the pinnacle of what you strive for in this conference. Every one of them contributed today, and this was a total team effort. I could not be more satisfied with their attitudes, performances, and accomplishments. This is a great day for this program, and for the Berkeley College Department of Athletics as a whole."
In what was a roller coaster season for the Knights, Berkeley lost its first match to Culinary Institute of America in a contest that was moved to Bard College at the last moment. The Knights then ran off a two-match winning streak before dropping four straight to finalize the regular season. Berkeley then put its stamp on its wild season by putting forth a phenomal effort in the 2015 HVIAC Tournament and ultimately coming away with a championship. It may only be the beginning of what could quickly become a program with a winning pedigree.
