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News Release
MEN'S & WOMEN'S TENNIS ADVANCE TO NEC SEMIFINALS
4/25/2003
West Windsor, NJ -- The favorites nearly held serve during outbracket and quarterfinal matches at the 2003 NEC Men?s and Women?s Tennis Championships, with the top four women?s seeds and three of the top four men?s seeds advancing to semifinal play on Friday. With the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, NJ providing the picturesque setting, the #6 seeded Robert Morris men?s team scored the lone upset of the day, knocking off #3 Mount St. Mary?s, 4-3, in a quarterfinal matchup. UMBC, seeded at #1 in both the men?s and women?s divisions, also advanced with easy quarterfinal victories. The Retrievers are attempting to capture their fifth consecutive women?s tennis crown and fourth straight men?s tennis title.In the men?s bracket, UMBC ousted #8 Wagner, 4-0, in quarterfinal play. The Seahawks, fresh off a 4-1 win over #9 St. Francis (PA) in an outbracket match earlier in the day, did not win a single game as the Retrievers continued their recent stretch of tournament brilliance. UMBC?s #1 singles player Joe Novotny (Sokolov, Czech Republic/Norfolk State) breezed to a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Wagner?s Josh Pruett (Alexandria, VA/Annandale). The Retrievers will meet #4 Quinnipiac in the semis, following the Bobcats? 4-1 win over #5 Sacred Heart. After dropping the doubles point, Quinnipiac stormed back to win four straight singles matches, including a 6-4, 6-0 triumph by Brian Tenenhaus (Reston, VA/South Lakes) over Jeff Bowers (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck) in a #3 flight match. In other quarterfinal action, #6 Robert Morris reached the semifinals following its aforementioned upset of #3 Mount St. Mary?s. With the score tied at 3-3, the Colonials? Youssef Mekaoui (Casablanca, Morocco/Lycee Lyautey) won a 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 decision over Bob Cozzillio (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) for the deciding point. The Colonials move on to face #2 Fairleigh Dickinson, an easy 4-0 winner over Monmouth. The Knights were led by Angel Rubio (Mexico City, Mexico/ITESM-CEM), who defeated Michael Kreig (Aberdeen, NJ/St. John Vianney), 6-0, 6-0, at #4 singles.On the women?s side, UMBC easily disposed of #8 Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-0, in the first quarterfinal match of the afternoon. The Retrievers? received a stellar effort from #3 Ale Pedergnana (Holliswood, NY/St. Francis Prep), who downed Marisa Puga (Chihuahua, Mexico/LaSalle), 6-0, 6-1. Looking to spring the upset against the heavily favored Retrievers on Friday is #4 Monmouth, a 4-0 winner over #5 Sacred Heart. The Hawks? Danielle Brunelli (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel) set the tone with a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Pioneers? Darcy Shoop (Rocky Hill, CT/Mercy) at #2 singles. Tomorrow?s second semifinal pits #2 Quinnipiac versus #3 Long Island. Quinnipiac, which ousted #7 St. Francis (PA), 4-0, was led by #4 flight player, Heather Rahm (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines). Rahm posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Mary Byrer (Charles Town, WV/Jefferson). Long Island had little trouble with #6 Wagner, securing a 4-0 triumph. The Blackbirds? Rachel Berenbaum (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) bounced Jenny Ludvigsen (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood), 6-0, 6-3, at #1 singles. A full slate of action will take place on Friday, with men?s semifinal play to begin at 10:00 am and the women?s semis slated for 2:00 pm. Consolation matches will be contested throughout the day, while the men?s and women?s championship matches will culminate the two-day tournament on Saturday morning. The winners of both the men?s and women?s tournaments will receive the league?s automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------