TEMPE, ARIZ. - In the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranking poll released on Friday (May 28), the Queens College Men's Tennis program finds itself ranked #45 nationally out of 188 schools, and third in the East region.
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The Knights finished the season 8-7 including winning their fourth straight East Coast Conference Championship and earning their 19
th straight NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament Championship appearance.
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Along with the team's success, the Knights also received individual honor in the ITA East Region singles and doubles poll.
In the singles category, freshman
Tim Ostheimer (Frankfurt, Germany) is ranked number 10 in the East region.
In a star-studded lineup, Ostheimer was the Knights' primary No. 1 singles competition starter. On April 8, the German native was ranked #48 in the ITA DII Men's Singles Ranking. He was only one of the two players in the Northeast Region to be placed in the top 50 singles ranking. After an injury slowed the season down, Ostheimer saw time in doubles competition including finishing the season 2-0 in conference play. Partnering with senior
Eduardo Marino (Sao Paulo, Brazil) at the No. 3 doubles court, the duo defeated Division I Niagara University Purple Knights duo of Roberto Vaca / Bruno Goncalves to the score of 6-4. On the season he was named ECC Rookie of the Week (March 29) and earned a spot on the Honor Roll sheet on April 12.
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JuniorÂ
Mariano Bibiloni (La Plata, Argentina) earned the number 14 ranking after finishing the year with a 7-5 singles record, including going 6-2 against DII opponents. Playing in the middle of the lineup, the Argentinian native went 3-1 at the No. 2 spot. Bibiloni gave the Knights a 3-1 lead in the ECC Final as he defeated St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans Alvaro Barranco in straights set to the score of 6-1, 6-3 as the Knights would go on to clinch their fourth straight conference title.Â
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Lastly junior
Kareem Rashad (Alexandria, Egypt) earned the number 17 singles ranking in the east after finishing the season 4-2 at the number 1 and 2 singles slot. Rashad was the bright spot for Queens at the No. 2 singles spot against Division I Fordham University Rams as the Egyptian native defeated Nicholas Kanazirev in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. In the ECC Championship final, Rashad clinched the Knights fourth straight title defeating STAC's Kas Roosch in a three-set thriller to the score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
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In the doubles category, the Knights' number one duo of Bibiloni and Rashad find themselves ranked number six in the East region as they finished with a record of 3-4 including going 3-3 at the No. 1 spot. The junior teammates picked up an impressive victory over Fordham's Lutwin de Macar / Tom Russwurm in a hard-fought match with a scoreline of 7-6 (7-4).
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