FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Queens College men's tennis team officially gets their 2025 campaign underway on Friday, Feb. 7 as the Knights open a seven-match homestand inside the QC Indoor Tennis Bubble.
 
Entering her 11^th year in charge of the program head coach Somadi Druker has compiled 139 wins since taking charge in 2015 and led the program to six East Coast Conference Regular Season titles and Championships. Along with the conference success, Druker and the Knights have made an appearance in the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament every single year earning multiple #1 seed in the East Regional brackets and trips to the National Championship round.
 
Coming off a consecutive ECC Championship and a NCAA Round of 16 appearance, the 2025 squad has similar aspirations and much more.
 
Druker added "This season brings a fresh start with a brand-new team, and I couldn't be more excited about the potential we have. While we're young and still building chemistry, the expectations are high—both on and off the court. There's a lot of work ahead of us, but this group has the talent and drive to rise to the challenge."
 
Joining Druker on the sideline will be third year assistant coach Robert Gomez, and All-ECC honorees Roni Rikkonen and Cameron Henricy as graduate assistant coaches.
 
With the graduation of Rikkonen, Henricy, and four-year starters Omar El Shehawey and Francisco Gonzalez, the Knights return three players from the 2024 squad and have bolstered the squad with the addition of eight new players to continue the championship success.
 
The 2025 squad features 12 players comprising of three juniors, four sophomores, and five freshmen.
 
Returners in junior Lucas Foix Sotos (Javea, Spain), and sophomores Tim Andersson (Linkoping, Sweden) and David Cerne (Ljubljana, Slovenia) gained valuable experience in last year's championship run will provide assistance in getting all the newcomers get adjusted to the high level of competition.
 
"Our three returners will play a crucial role in setting the tone and ensuring this team stays united, just like years past. Their leadership will be key as we focus on fundamentals, teamwork, and creating a culture of accountability and resilience." Continued Druker. "It won't always be easy, but I'm confident this team is ready to put in the effort to achieve something special."
 
Foix Sotos and Andersson played a key role in last year's multiple championship matches including Andersson clinching the NCAA Second Round victory at #3 singles court as Queens booked their spot to the NCAA Round of 16.
 
Junior transfers Viktor Ek Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden) from Saint Leo University and Alexis Martin-Gibiard (Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France) join Foix Sotos as the upperclassmen on the squad. Ek Johansson joins the Knights after spending the last two seasons at Saint Leo University, a team that advanced to the NCAA DII National Semifinal Championship match last year.
 
Martin-Gibiard who joined the squad during the fall semester has competed in three fall tournaments and enters the year with a singles and doubles record of 6-2.
 
Sophomore transfer Loup Alleno (Paris, France) enters the spring with plenty of experience having played at the Division I level at Presbyterian college where he helped the Blue Hose in capturing the Big South Tournament title and a NCAA Tournament bid.
 
While last transfer Caleb Brightman (Pawling, N.Y.) returns to New York after playing at Salisbury University in Maryland.
 
Five rookies in Jaime Foix Sotos (Javea, Spain), Adam Laur (Boulogne Billancourt, France), Samuel Linck (Haarlem, Netherlands), London Mosquera (Queens, N.Y.), and Pablo Serrano (Cochabamba, Bolivia) have used the fall tournaments to learn and adjust to the tempo of collegiate competition including competing against some local division I schools.
 
The opening four matches of the schedule see the Knights compete against division I talent as Druker and her squad hope to use the matches to build a lineup to compete against their division II foes and their quest to complete a hattrick of ECC Championships and another NCAA tournament appearance.
 
In the 2025 ECC Coaches Preseason Poll, the Knights earned two first-place votes to finish tied for first place with 14 points. The first conference match of the year is set for Friday, Mar. 7 against the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds at noon inside the QC Indoor Tennis Bubble.
 
The Knights get underway on Friday, Feb. 7 as the Pride of Hofstra University comes to town. The first serve is set for 1:00 p.m.

For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), Twitter (@QCKnights),  Instagram (qcknightsny), qcmtennis (@qcmtennis)