RICHARDSON, Texas (May 15, 2021) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s tennis team won two of the three doubles points but were unable to add another win to their ledger as they say their 2021 season come to a close with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Southwestern University (Texas) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at UT Dallas Tennis Courts.
The Ducks, who won their 11th straight conference title this season, closes the year with an 11-1 overall record while the Pirates improved to 15-2.
“We came out on fire today and played some exceptional doubles to take a 2-1 lead heading into singles,” head coach Steve Gachko said. “I was very proud of our guys competed overall today, but we didn’t have the firepower to translate our doubles success into singles play. Southwestern outplayed us in singles to earn the five points needed to advance but in true Stevens Tennis fashion, we never stopped fighting.”
In doubles competition, the combination of junior Marc Feliu and first-year Aashi Kulakarni along with seniors Keegan Morris and Gabriel Sifuentes both were able to grab 8-4 victories at flights one and two, respectively.
The line one combo improved their doubles record to 11-0 this season while Morris and Sifuntes moved to 7-0 on the year. In fact, both groups did not lose more than four games in a doubles matchup this season.
Southwestern came to life in singles competition, however, as they got straight set wins at lines two, three, four and six to take home the 5-2 victory.
The loss snaps a streak of back-to-back NCAA Championship appearances with a win for the Ducks.
“This was a very unique, yet special season for our guys and being able to celebrate our successful season out here in Texas together for the NCAA tournament will always be one to remember,” Gachko said. “Our seniors, Gabe and Keegan, are leaving our program in a better place now then when they arrived, and for that I’m very grateful. Our returners are hungry to keep our winning traditions alive and welcome a talented group of newcomers to pick up where we left off.”
Stevens will return six of the eight student-athletes who appeared in the starting lineup multiple times this season for the 2021-22 campaign, including Feliu and Kulakarni, the MAC Freedom Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
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