Columbia, Md. – The UMBC men's tennis team lost a difficult match to the Stony Brook Seawolves, falling, 4-3, in the America East Conference Tournament semifinals. The match began at approximately 2:15 p.m. but did not finish until 7:45 p.m. A rain delay in the midst of singles play forced the contest to be moved to the indoor courts at Green Spring Racquet Club, a 40-minute drive from the initial site of Wilde Lake Community Center .
The doubles matches were a highly contested affair. At the No. 1 position, sophomore partners Justin Carter (Randallstown, Md.) and Melker Svard (Gothenburg, Sweden) battled in a tough match, but fell 8-6 to their Stony Brook opponents.
The Seawolves clinched the doubles point when junior Kamal Patel (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) and sophomore Eliott Loubatie (Paris, France) also lost, 8-6. The Retriever duo fought back from down 7-1, but their furious rally was stopped short.
In singles play, sophomore Alex Drean (Bayonne, France) got the Retrievers off to a quick start at the No. 3 position, handling his opponent 6-1, 6-2. However, he was the only Retriever to win an outdoor singles match. Loubatie lost, 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 4 slot, and junior Daniel Gray (Bowie, Md./The Bullis) fell 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 position. All remaining Retrievers trailed when it began pouring rain, forcing the match to be shifted indoors.
The Retrievers (12-10) showed their grit at the new courts. Carter headed into a third set at No. 1, and pulled out the victory, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Patel bounced back from a tough second set at the 6 position to win, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, tying the match at 3-3. At the 2 position, Svard battled to force a third set, but ultimately fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, clinching the win for the Seawolves.
Doubles
No. 1 – SBU, 8-6
No. 2 – DNF
No. 3 – SBU, 8-6
Singles
No. 1 Alex Felisa vs. Justin Carter – UMBC, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
No. 2 Raphael Termat vs. Melker Svard – SBU, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 3 Jose Morales vs. Alexander Drean – UMBC, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Tyler Hoffman vs. Eliott Loubatie – SBU, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 Marcelo Locatelli vs. Daniel Gray – SBU, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Brandon Stone vs. Kamal Patel – UMBC, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
