WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's tennis team fell short of making its 11th trip to the Northeast Conference Championship match, suffering a close 4-2 defeat to second-seed Wagner in the semifinals.
 
The Knights (9-13) won one of three doubles matches to start the day against the Seahawks (7-9). FDU remained in the hunt by winning two of the first four singles matches, but with the Knights close to tying the match, Wagner pulled out a final singles win to end the Knights' title chances.
 
Junior Ivan Solans Diaz won in both singles and doubles for the Knights. He partnered with sophomore Eduardo Cabral to win 6-1 at the no. 3 doubles spot, and he then earned the first FDU singles point with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Lucas Gonzalez.
 
Freshman Mehdi Dhouib later earned the Knights' next singles point at the no. 1 spot, taking down Anatoliy Lashkul in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, and bringing the overall match score to 3-2.
 
The match then came down to the final two singles spots. Sophomore Moric Budinszky made a big comeback to even his match at one set apiece by winning 7-5 in the second stanza. Wagner's Ilya Knepplehout, however, got past Cabral at the sixth spot after winning a tiebreaker in the first set, 7-6 (4), 6-3, which sealed the overall match victory for the Seahawks.
 
Sophomores Andris Gudins and Maciej Autuch both fell in straight sets in their singles matches, with Gudins dropping his match 4-6, 3-6 to Dylan Walters.
 
The Knights end their season having made the semifinals of the NEC Championships for the 14th straight season, improving their overall win total from last year by four. Solans Diaz topped the Knights with 16 singles wins this season, and the duo of Solans Diaz and Cabral tied the duo of Dhouib and Gudins with 11 doubles wins this season.
 
Wagner moves on to play top-seed and defending champion Bryant in the NEC Championship on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
BOX SCORE
DOUBLES
Anatoliy Lashkul/Dale Sandy (WAG) def. Andris Gudins/Maciej Autuch (FDU), 6-4
Eric Poland/Ilya Kneppelhout (WAG) def. Mehdi Dhouib/Moric Budinszky (FDU), 6-2
Ivan Solans Diaz/Eduardo Cabral (FDU) def. Dylan Walters/Lucas Gonzalez (WAG), 6-4
 
SINGLES
Dhouib (FDU) def. Lashkul (WAG), 7-5, 6-2
Walters (WAG) def. Gudins (FDU), 6-4, 6-3
Hans Ohrner (WAG) def. Autuch (FDU), 6-1, 6-0
Solans Diaz (FDU) def. Gonzalez (WAG), 6-2, 6-0
Budinszky (FDU) vs. Poland (WAG), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
Kneppelhout (WAG) def. Cabral (FDU), 7-6 (4), 6-3