RALEIGH, N.C. – Shaw University advanced to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships for the first time in school history after nipping Bluefield State College in a hard-fought 5-3 victory Monday in the Atlantic Region No. 1 finals at Biltmore Hills Tennis Courts.
The NCAA Division II championships will be held May 11-14 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. The Bears, who are seven-time CIAA champions, will be one of 16 teams at the tournament. They will play May 11 against the South Central No. 2 champion at 10:30 a.m.
"I am so happy that we made history," said Shaw Head Coach Sunday Enitan, whose team improved to 25-1 overall. "We are going to give it our best."
Though the outcome was the same, the playoff match was much closer than the regular season meeting between both teams, won by Shaw 5-0. The Bears, top-seeded in the region for the first time ever, clinched Monday's victory over the third-seeded Big Blues (16-10 overall) when Daniel Vasquez (pictured) beat Dusan Zivkovic of Bluefield State 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in No. 5 singles. Vasquez is one of three freshmen on the Bears' team.
"[Vasquez] showed composure," Enitan said. "That is big."
Vasquez's victory was one of three singles wins for the Bears. Gabriel Nicotra beat Marcin Majchrzak 7-5, 6-0 in No. 2 singles and Kalada Kienka downed Jesus Sanchez 6-0, 6-1 in No. 3 singles.
In doubles play, the Bears' tandem of Kienka and Vasquez defeated Vlad Catlan and Sreeram Guatam 9-8 (7) in No. 2 doubles. Carlos Guarin and Andre Monti of Shaw teamed up to defeat Zivkovic and Sanchez 8-3 in No. 3 doubles.
Shikhar Kapur and Majchrzak beat Ataide Suca and Nicotra 9-7 to keep the Big Blues in contention after doubles. The Bears led 2-1 going into singles, and the score was 4-3 Shaw before Vasquez clinched the match. Suca of Shaw and Catlan were in a third-set tiebreaker in No. 4 singles when play was stopped after Vasquez's win. Singles victories for the Big Blues were Kapur over Guarin 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 and Guatam beating Monti 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6.
The loss ended the season of the Big Blues, who finished second in the WVIAC. The Big Blues reached the regional finals after beating Winston-Salem State 5-0 in Sunday's first round match.
