Quinnipiac University
Hofstra University
Axel Stern Clinches QU Men's Tennis Win Over Hofstra, 4-3
3/11/2017 9:17:00 PM | Men's Tennis
OCEANSIDE, New York - Quinnipiac men's tennis freshman Axel Stern (Tustin, California) was able to earn a hard-fought win in the No. 5 singles draw to clinch a 4-3 victory over Hofstra on Saturday afternoon at the Point Set Racquet Club.
With the win, Quinnipiac improves to 6-4 (3-0 MAAC) on the season, while Hofstra falls to 3-8.
It was a total team effort as five Bobcats recorded victories on the day, with Kyle Alper (Dix Hills, New York) and Julian Rozenstein (Marlboro, New Jersey) each recording two victories.
The day began with the No. 2 doubles match, where Austin Yannone (Severna Park, Maryland) and Stern fell to Marcus Smith and Jan Leithner, 6-2. The Bobcats were able to bounce back in the No. 1 doubles draw, as Freddie Zaretsky (Fair Lawn, New Jersey) and Rozenstein defeated Coco Haener and Niko Vulinovich, 6-2.
In the rubber match to determine the doubles point, captain Kei Ezaka (Ojai, California) and Alper was able to power the Bobcats to a win over Nick Silvestri and David Schrott, 7-6 (8). The win was Ezaka's 130th of his career, which is one win away from tying Eric Ambrosio '15 for second on the program all-time wins list.
With Quinnipiac taking a 1-0 lead into singles play, Zaretsky took on Vulinovich in the No. 2 singles draw. Hofstra took the win as Zaretsky retired due to injury in the first set. With the score knotted at one, Rozenstein was able to best Leithner in straight sets 6-3 and 6-3. Hofstra was able to tie the match at two after Smith was able to squeak past Ezaka in the No. 1 singles match. Smith took the first set 6-2, but Ezaka battled back to take the second, 6-3. However, Smith was just able to get past Ezaka in the third, 6-3.
Hofstra took a 3-2 lead after the No. 6 singles match, where Silvestri was able to best Yannone in straight sets 6-4 and 6-4. Alper then came back to tie the match at three after he defeated Haener in three sets in the No. 4 spot. Alper took the first set 6-4 but lost the second 6-4. Alper was able to come back strong in the final set, defeating Haener 6-4.
In what would be the match of the evening, Stern took on David Schrott in the No. 5 draw in a winner-takes-all match. Stern bested Schrott in the first set 7-6 (2), needing to win one more set to secure the Bobcats' win. Stern fell behind 5-1 in the second set, but in miraculous fashion, he was able to comeback to beat Schrott, 7-5, to clinch the win for Quinnipiac. It was the second time this season that Stern was able to clinch a victory in the final draw of a match, as he did so against Boston University on Jan. 29.
The Bobcats will be back in action on Wednesday, March 22, as Quinnipiac will play host to Fairleigh Dickinson at the QU Tennis Courts at 3 p.m.
DOUBLES:
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1. Freddie Zaretsky/Julian Rozenstein (QUI) def. Coco Haener/Niko Vulinovich (HOFSTRA) 6-2 |
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2. Marcus Smith/Jan Leithner (HOFSTRA) def. Austin Yannone/Axel Stern (QUI) 6-2 |
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3. Kyle Alper/Kei Ezaka (QUI) def. Nick Silvestri/David Schrott (HOFSTRA) 7-6 (8) SINGLES:
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Players Mentioned
