CHARLESTON, WV (May 3, 2014) – The Edinboro men's tennis team earned its first NCAA Regional victory in school history with a 5-4 defeat of host Charleston (WV) in the first round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic 2 Regional. The match took place on Saturday afternoon at the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts in Charleston, WV. The Fighting Scots now move on to face PSAC foe Kutztown in a rematch of last week's PSAC Championship Final in the Atlantic 2 Regional Final tomorrow, May 4 in Charleston, WV at 11 a.m.
 Edinboro improved to 19-8 on the season and extended its match win streak to ten contests with the triumph. The Golden Eagles close the season with a 15-7 ledger.
 
The Fighting Scots came into the regional tournament as the sixth seed, while host Charleston was seeded third. Edinboro was making its first trip to an NCAA Regional in program history.
 
The Fighting Scots secured an early 2-1 advantage with a pair of victories in the doubles play, which proved to be the difference in the match as the teams split singles competition 3-3.
 
The duo of Matias Aignasse and Juan Estepa, ranked fourth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Atlantic Regional doubles rankings, topped Charleston's James Gammell and Dennis Okoth at the no. 1 position by a score of 8-4. Gammel and Okoth entered the match ranked sixth in the ITA regional rankings.
 
The tandem of James Cooper and Thomas Pellegrino picked up their ninth consecutive victory in doubles play with an 8-6 win at the no. 3 spot over Nicholas Bakos and Jacob Lorenz.
 
Aignasse, who was recently named the PSAC Men's Tennis Athlete of the Year, collected a 6-2, 6-4 win over Matt Sherba at no. 1 singles. Aignasse boosted his record to 19-4 in singles play with the win over Sherba, who is ranked fourth in the ITA Atlantic Regional Singles Rankings. Aignasse is the third-ranked player in the ITA regional rankings.
 
PSAC Freshman of the Year Bruno Borja earned a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Gammell at no. 2 singles, improving to 19-10 on the season. Borja is ranked 13^th in the ITA regional rankings, while Gamma came into the match as the sixth-ranked player in the region.
 
After dropping the first set 6-1 at no. 4 singles, Amir Talab (21-7) won the second and third sets by scores of 6-4, 6-2 over Lorenz to secure his team-leading 21st victory on the season.
 
The Golden Eagles picked up victories at third, fifth, and sixth singles.
 
The Fighting Scots will now face Kutztown in a rubber match in the NCAA Division II Atlantic 2 Regional Final tomorrow at  11 a.m. at the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts in Charleston, WV. The winner moves on to the NCAA Round of 16 in Alamonte Springs, Fla. to face the winner of the South 2 region on May 14 at 1:30 p.m.
 
Edinboro recently defeated the Golden Bears in the PSAC Championship Final by a score of 5-3 on April 18, marking the Fighting Scots' first PSAC title since 1978. Kutztown won the teams' first meeting this season 6-3 on March 1.
 
 
Match Results
 
Doubles Competition
#1  Matias Aignasse/Juan Estepa (EU) def. Okoth/Gammell (UC) 8-4
#2  Sherba/Nelson (UC) def. Bruno Borja/Brandon Romain (EU) 8-4
#3  James Cooper/Thomas Pellegrino (EU) def. Bakos/Lorenz (UC) 8-6
 
Singles Competition
#1  Matias Aignasse (EU) def. Matt Sherba (UC) 6-2, 6-4
#2  Bruno Borja (EU) def. James Gammell (UC) 6-3, 6-2
#3  Dennis Okoth (UC) def.  Juan Estepa (EU) 6-3, 6-2
#4  Amir Talab (EU) def. Jake Lorenz (UC) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
#5  Nick Bakos (UC) def.  Brandon Romain (EU) 7-5, 6-1
#6  Davey Nelson (UC) def. Raffaele Fusulan (EU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0