The Quinnipiac men’s tennis team took down Marist and in-state rival Fairfield to win their first ever MAAC title, and are headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010.
The Bobcats escaped a close match versus Marist in the semifinals which went well into the night. Ayato Arakaki worked under the lights, as the match was tied 3-3 on Saturday night. Arakaki would go on to win in three sets, sending the Bobcats to the title game. The next day the Bobcats played on little rest, kicking off the title match on Sunday, at 2:45 p.m.
Quinnipiac started off rough, as Fairfield swept doubles 2-0 to take a quick 1-0 lead in the match. Singles kicked off next where the Bobcats were the best all season, but more importantly on Sunday.
Shaurya Sood and Carlos Braun Simo gave Quinnipiac the lead after winning early in singles. Finn Burridge gave the Bobcats even more of a spark, as he went on to win a two set match that lasted nearly two hours. Burridge fought hard to capture the point, winning a tiebreak in the second set 10-8, increasing the lead to 3-1.
Daniel Velek, the MAAC tennis player of the year, was up next, hoping to clinch the match for the Bobcats. Velek surprisingly lost in two sets, after forcing a tiebreak in the second set. Velek also lost that tiebreak 12-10, giving Fairfield a chance. The Stags would still have to win back-to-back singles, but taking down Velek gave them some momentum.
Next up in line was senior leader Donovan Brown. Brown lost the first set 6-4, but did not back down. Brown went on to win sets two and three to win the MAAC title. Video surfaced on social media as the last return to Brown went strong and the Bobcats won the title, as everyone jumped on him to celebrate the first MAAC title in program history.
It took 14 years to get back, but Quinnipiac finally did it. The players left it all on the court to get the big win, but there is also another driving force behind this title.
Head coach Bryan Adinolfi was a former tennis player at UConn, where he was the captain of the team his senior year. He has since moved onto coaching, first as a former assistant of the Quinnipiac men’s tennis team, and also coached at the high school level.
Now in just his second season at the helm, he will be coaching in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bobcats will have to wait a little bit to find out what is next for them. Many conference tournaments are still happening amongst the NCAA, so the selection show will not be until next week. You can tune in on ncaa.com on Monday, April 29 at 6 p.m. to see where, and who the Bobcats will play.
Last time Quinnipiac was in this position, they got unlucky. In 2010, the Bobcats drew 17-time national champion the Stanford Cardinal. The Bobcats would lose 4-0.
The first round of the tournament will be played May 3.
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