BALTIMORE- For the eighth time in the last nine years, the UMBC
men's tennis team has advanced to the America East Championship
match, as the second-seeded Retrievers knocked off No. 3 Stony
Brook, 4-1, in the semifinals at the UMBC Tennis Complex.
UMBC (9-8) will meet No. 1 Binghamton (15-9) in the title match
on Sunday at 10:00.
The Retrievers defeated Stony Brook for the second consecutive
year in the semifinal round, although in 2012, the Seawolves were
the second-seeded squad.
The match was tightly-contested, as the Retrievers prevailed in
two of three doubles matches to take one point, and won two of five
matches that headed to three sets.
"We knew that they (Stony Brook) are a really good team-it has
always been a good battle," said head coach Rob
Hubbard. "We got the doubles point today- it was a big
deal to get the doubles point as everyone was going three sets (in
singles)."
The match opened with Retriever freshmen Melker Svard
(Gothenburg, Sweden) and Elliot Loubatie (Paris, France)
triumphing, 8-3 at the No. 2 slot. After Stony Brook captured the
No. 1 doubles contest, 8-4, UMBC sophomore Daniel
Gray (Bowie, Md./The Bullis School) and freshman Alex
Drean (Bayonne, France) edged Rick Timmerman/Vinicious
Degani, 8-5 to clinch the match's first point.
In the lone singles match to be decided in straight sets,
Retriever senior No. 4 Gaulthier
Berret (Lagny Sur Marne, France) defeated Marcelo
Locatelli, 6-3, 6-1. UMBC took a 3-0 advantage when Gray overcame
Fontova , 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 at the No. 6 slot.
But Stony Brook won at No. 3 singles, and matches at Nos. 1, 2,
and 5 were in the deciding set. However, UMBC sophomore Kamal
Patel (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) shook off a
first-set loss and rallied to defeat Robert Forai, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3,
clinching the match for the hosts.
"The guys are in great shape and they are prepared," Hubbard
said. "We have had a lot of three set matches this year.
Kamal is no stranger to three sets and I am glad he closed it out
today."
The Bearcats, who blanked Hartford, 4-0, in the other semifinal
match, have won five consecutive America East titles and have
defeated UMBC in four of those five championship
matches.
"We have a little bit of a break," Hubbard said. "We
will hit some tomorrow and hopefully, we can go to another level on
Sunday."
