Bobcats Down Fairfield, Win First-Ever MAAC Title

Sunday, April 21

West Windsor Township, NJ

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Fairfield University

Photo by: Nick Solari

4/21/2024 6:40:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: QU Athletic Communications

WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, NJ – No. 2 Quinnipiac Men's Tennis defeated top-seeded Fairfield in a thriller on Sunday afternoon, as the Bobcats captured their first-ever MAAC championship with a 4-2 victory at Mercer County Tennis Center.

The Stags picked up the doubles point to begin the day with a victory at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Quinnipiac then won four of the five singles matches that finished, as Shaurya Sood (No. 3), Carlos Braun Simo. (No. 4), Finn Burridge (No. 5) and Donovan Brown (No. 6) all earned victories to give QU its first-ever MAAC title.

Brown won the clincher from the No. 6 position. It marks Quinnipiac's first conference championship/trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010.

WHAT A MOMENT!

The Bobcats are MAAC CHAMPS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/u6mcsviMAI
— Quinnipiac Men's Tennis (@QU_MTEN) April 21, 2024

FINAL SCORE
Quinnipiac 4, Fairfield 2

SINGLES RESULTS
Smart (Fairfield) Def. Daniel Velek (QU): 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
Ayato Arakaki (QU) vs. Hodges (Fairfield): 7-5, 6-3, 1-1 inc
Shaurya Sood (QU) Def. Condos (Fairfield): 6-0, 6-2
Carlos Braun Simo (QU) Def. Shah (Fairfield): 6-7 (7-1), 6-1, 6-0
Finn Burridge (QU) Def. Kollias (Fairfield): 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)
Donovan Brown (QU) Def. Schlessinger (Fairfield): 6-4, 2-6, 6-2

DOUBLES RESULTS
Daniel Velek / Shaurya Sood (QU) vs. Smart/Hodges (Fairfield): 5-4 unfinished
Condos/O'Brien (Fairfield) Def. Finn Burridge / Carlos Braun Simo (QU): 6-4
Kollias/Benaibbouche (Fairfield) Def. Donovan Brown / Ayato Arakaki (QU): 6-2

NOTES

Shaurya Sood won 6-0, 6-2 for his 5th singles victory in MAAC play.
Carlos Braun Simo improved to 6-1 in conference singles matches. He went 5-0 in singles league matches during the regular season.
Finn Burridge and Donovan Brown both went 2-0 in singles matches this week, and both have now won 5 singles matches in MAAC play this spring.
The Bobcats have now won the conference championship five times in QU's Division I era. Quinnipiac won the NEC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2010.
Quinnipiac's overall record improves to 14-10 on the season. The win for the Bobcats avenges their lone conference defeat of the season and it also snapped the Stags 11-match winning streak that dated back to March 5.
Saturday's hero, Arakaki, who scored the match sealing victory in the semifinals round, was named as the 2024 Most Outstanding Performer.
The Bobcats have won eight of their last nine matches under second-year Head Coach Bryan Adinolfi.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will earn the MAAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship. The Bobcats will find out their opponent and match time on Monday, April 29 at 6:00 p.m. during the Division I Men's Tennis Selection Show on NCAA.com.