FLUSHING, N.Y. – For the first time in Queens College men's tennis program history, a Knight has claimed the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Regional Singles Championship crown.
Senior
Roni Rikkonen (Tampere, Finland) began his tournament in the Round of 64 on Friday and would make his way through six rounds to become Champion over the course of four days.
In the 2022 ITA Edition of the East Regional Tournament, Rikkonen saw his Singles Tournament run end in the Round of 32, but he would advance to the Doubles Championship match before it ended in a heartbreaking loss.
Entering the singles tournament ranked #5, Rikkonen matched up against Daemen University Juan Alvarez and would earn a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the Round of 64 to advance to the next round.
His next match would come against Franklin Pierce University Alejandro Ortiz and the senior would cruise past Ortiz with his second straight set sweep with a 6-1, 6-2 victory as he advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time in his career as a Knight.
In the Round of 16, Rikkonen matched up against Adelphi University Reece Farrow. He would earn a first set victory of 6-3 before going back and forth against his opponent in the second set. But a 7-5 second victory over Farrow would advance Rikkonen to the quarterfinal round on Sunday afternoon.
Entering the Quarterfinals for the first time, Rikkonen's journey would only get tougher as he matched up against regional-ranked #4 Noah Cutting of Chestnut Hill College.
The senior would earn a convincing 6-2 first set victory before he traded points with Cutting in the second set to force a tiebreaker. With the second set tied 6-6, Rikkonen would ensure he would advance to the semifinal round with a 7-1 tiebreaker victory.
In the semifinal match, Rikkonen's test would get tougher as he matched up against #8 Marko Jovanovic who defeated two-time defending champion #1 Jonathan Berling of Southern New Hampshire University.
Jovanovic would take a 1-0 lead as Rikkonen dropped the first set to the score of 6-3 before rain stopped play on Sunday evening with the second set tied at 1-1.
Continuing their match on Monday morning in the friendly confines of the Queens College Tennis Bubble, Rikkonen playing on his home court would help him earn a 6-2 second set victory to force the third set tiebreaker.
The senior would earn a 10-5 third set victory to become the second Knight to advance to the ITA East Regional Singles Championship match in back-to-back season.
Rikkonen would become the third Knight in men's tennis program history to advance to the Championship match as junior
Cameron Henricy (Las Palmas, Spain) made the finals last year and Alum Lucas Martinez made the finals in the 2016 edition of the Tournament.
Looking to become the first Knight to be crowned champion, Rikkonen matched up against Southern New Hampshire University Jesse den Hartog who entered the tournament ranked #6 in the Championship match.
It would be a battle of two evenly matched individuals in the championship but Hartog would take a 3-2 first set lead before Rikkonen earned two straight points to take a 4-3 lead.
Hartog would tie the first set at 5-5 before the Finland native found himself trailing in the final match to go up a set.
Rikkonen would force deuce before clinching the set point to earn a 7-5 victory and earn a 1-0 lead.
In the second set, Rikkonen found himself trailing 3-2 before he earned two straight points to take a 4-3 lead for the second time in the match.
For the second straight set, Hartog would force another tie at 5-5 before Rikkonen went up 6-5 giving serve back to Hartog for match point.
With Rikkonen now in control, the senior would ensure there would be no tiebreaker or a third set for the championship crown as he earned a 7-5 second set victory to become the first Knight in program history to win the ITA East Regional Men's Singles Championship Crown.
Post Match Comment
Roni Rikkonen (Rampere, Finland)
"Playing possibly the last ITA's of my college career and managing to pull this off is a huge accomplishment for me. Last year's good performance in getting to the doubles final gave me the confidence to play well this year. Even though I was short on matches coming into the start of the tournament, I was able to find the level and conditioning to beat good guys. Losing in the first round in doubles was a big bummer for me this year but then finding the high level in singles turned my mindset upside down and I found a way to win every match in singles. It is a really good feeling to be able to win the championship, not going to lie. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up the same level at the Nationals Tournament later this fall."
Assistant Coach Robert Gomez
"The team effort and morale this whole weekend was amazing. I'm very proud of the team, especially Roni who played phenomenally throughout the tournament. He played with true grit and determination in this Regional Championship Final and we are all very happy for him. Let's go Knights!"
With the win, Rikkonen now advances to the ITA Cup Super Bowl which will take in Rome, GA from October 12-16 at the Rome Tennis Center to battle for the Singles National Championship Crown.
More details on the event will follow in the upcoming days.
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