BUFFALO, N.Y.- The Queens College Knights men's tennis team played their first doubleheader of the 2021 season in the first two of three games in Upstate, N.Y. on Saturday. In the first contest, the Knights played against their third Division 1 team of the season as they went up against MAAC member Niagara University Purple Eagles, before opening East Coast Conference (ECC) play against the Wildcats of Daemen College.
The Knights fell 4-3 to the Purple Eagles before sweeping the Wildcats 7-0 in the nightcap. With the Saturday afternoon split, the Knights are now 2-3 overall, 1-0 in ECC.
Game One: Queens 3, Niagara 4
Queens fell 4-3 against Niagara as the doubles point played a crucial role in the Purple Eagles victory as both teams split singles competition.
In double plays, head coach
Somadi Druker brought out three new doubles team against the Eagles. The Knights No. 2 duo of Sophomore
Julius Schulte (Dusseldorf, Germany)/ freshman
Omar El Shehawey (Cairo, Egypt) teaming up for the first time this season fell 6-2 to the duo of Eduardo Villalpando / Pere Padro. The second new pair of freshman
Tim Ostheimer (Frankfurt, Germany)/ senior
Eduardo Marino (Sao Paulo, Brazil) knotted the doubles competition 1-1 as they defeated Roberto Vaca / Bruno Goncalves 6-4 at the No. 3 doubles slot.
At the No.1 doubles slot the sophomore duo of
Moritz Borges (Hunxe, Germany) /
Mariano Bibiloni (La Plata, Argentina) fell 7-6 (7-5) in the tie-breaker as the Purple Eagles took the crucial doubles points.
Singles Play
Playing singles competition for the first time this season Marino fell in straight sets to Villalpando 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 spot. Shehawey fell 7-5, 6-3 at the No. 2 slot to Seneno. At the No. 1 slot Ostheimer lost a three-set match falling 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to Manuel Alonso.
The Knights won at No. 3, 4, 5 singles slot as Bibiloni won a three-set thriller against William Gothlin at the No. 3 slot with the scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. At the No. 4 spot, Borges would win the Knights second three-set match defeating Pardo 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, while freshman
Francisco Gonzalez (La Plata, Argentina) defeated Vaca in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 5 slot.
Game Two: Queens 7, Daemen 0
The Knights returned to the wins column as they ended their two-game losing streak and opened ECC play in winning fashion as they swept the Wildcats 7-0.
The Knights would take the doubles point as the No. 2 doubles pair of
Ostheimer /
Marino teaming up for the second time on the day shut out the Wildcats duo of Phillip Vance / Ross Belen 6-0. The Knights would clinch the doubles points as
Schulte /
Shehawey defeated Matthew Gary / Jose Williamson III 6-2 at the No. 3 spot. The No. 1 duo of
Borges /
Bibiloni would drop their second doubles match of the season as they were defeated 6-4 tby the duo of Ben Davis / Sam Greeco.
Queens wasted no time in singles play as they won all six singles in straight sets. Playing at the No. 1 spot for the first time Shehawey defeated Davis 6-4, 6-2. Borges would dispatch Vance at the No. 2 slot winning 6-3, 6-0 to go 2-0 in singles play on the day. . Gonzalez playing at the No. 3 slot for the first time this season defeated Williamson III 6-2, 6-3.
Playing his second singles match of the season and first at No. 4 slot, Marino shut out Greco 6-0 in the first set before winning 6-1 in the second set. Schulte defeated Belen 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot
Senior
Hugo Evangelista de Andrade (Goiania, Brazil) playing his first competition of the season defeated Gary at the No. 6 slot 6-2, 6-0 to the complete the sweep over the Wildcats.
UP NEXT: The Knights conclude their Buffalo trip as they meet the Wildcats for game two of the three-match series Sunday (Apr. 11) with the first serve slated for 11:30 a.m.
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