In search of its third-consecutive Northeast Conference title, the Fairleigh Dickinson University ushered in the 2009 NEC Tournament with a 4-0 quarterfinal victory versus No. 8 St. Francis College (NY), Friday, April 17.  The Knights improved to 7-8 overall and extended their winning streak to 15 games against league foes.

Head Coach Ira Miller's team will face fourth-seeded Monmouth University, Saturday, April 18 in the semifinals in West Windsor, NJ.  The match will start no earlier than 11:30 a.m. at the Mercer County Tennis Center.  The Hawks turned away fifth-seeded Robert Morris University, 4-0, in their quarterfinal action.

FDU, the top seed in the tourney for a fourth-straight season, claimed the doubles point after taking the final two matches.  Sophomore Matt Gordon (London, England/Mill Hill County) teamed with freshman Andrew Denny (Bingley, England/Bradford Grammar), but the duo was upended by Jindrich Chaloupka and Esteban Mesa, 8-1.  In No. 2 doubles, freshman Marco Jemersic (Zagreb, Croatia/X Gimnazija Ivan Supek) and sophomore Alex Jorne (Rochester, NY/Brighton) paired to edge Danlahdi Robinson and James Brennan Tsang, 8-5.  Freshman Markus Bolinder (Stockholm, Sweden/Ostra Reals Gymnasium) and senior Keiichiro Adachi (Tokyo, Japan/Gakushuin) united to shut out Vihren Todorov and Daniel Gonzalez in the third flight.

The bottom half of the line-up swept the Terriers ? who finished the regular-season 2-3 versus NEC teams ? and were subsequently sent to 5-12 overall.

Jorne and Adachi notched straight-set decisions in No. 4 and No. 5 singles, taking down Brennan Tsang and Gonzalez, respectively.  Sophomore Daniel Quesada (Tres Rios, Costa Rica/Anglo American) was victorious, 6-0, 6-1, over Todorov in sixth singles.

Gordon, Denny, and Bolinder's appearances all went unfinished, as the Knights clinched their postseason advancement.  In the first flight, only Gordon trailed, 4-6, 1-1, to Chaloupka.  Denny held command in second singles, 6-2, 1-2, against Mesa.  Bolinder was up, 6-4, when his No. 3 singles competition with Robinson was halted.

“After a very tough double point, we kept rolling in singles,” Miller said.  “We're looking forward to tomorrow's semifinal versus a rival in Monmouth.”

Earlier in the day, St. Francis (NY) defeated Wagner College, 4-0, in an outbracket match to earn the right to square off with Fairleigh Dickinson.

Singles

1. GORDON, Matt (FDU) vs. CHALOUPKA, Jindrich (SFNY) 4-6, 1-1, unfinished

2. DENNY, Andrew (FDU) vs. MESA, Esteban (SFNY) 6-2, 1-2, unfinished

3. BOLINDER, Markus (FDU) vs. ROBINSON, Danlahdi (SFNY) 6-4, unfinished

4. JORNE, Alex (FDU) def. BRENNAN TSANG, James (SFNY) 6-0, 6-0

5. ADACHI, Keiichiro (FDU) def. GONZALEZ, Daniel (SFNY) 6-0, 6-0

6. QUESADA, Daniel (FDU) def. TODOROV, Vihren (SFNY) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles

1. CHALOUPKA, Jindrich/MESA, Esteban (SFNY) def. GORDON, Matt/DENNY, Andrew (FDU)  8-1

2. JEMERSIC, Marco/JORNE, Alex (FDU) def. ROBINSON, Danlahdi/BRENNAN TSANG, James (SFNY) 8-5

3. BOLINDER, Markus/ADACHI, Keiichiro (FDU) def. TODOROV, Vihren/GONZALEZ, Daniel (SFNY) 8-0

Match Notes

2009 NEC Tennis Championships - Match 12 - Quarterfinals