DENVER, Colo. (May 18, 2016) – The Edinboro University men's tennis team saw its magical season come to an end on Wednesday night with a 5-0 defeat to second-ranked Armstrong State in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Sweet 16. .
Edinboro closed the book on its 2015-16 campaign as the winningest team in program history at 23-4. With a roster of seven freshmen and two sophomores, head coach
Lee Underwood's squad broke the school record of 19 wins set in 2013-14. They went on to win their third straight PSAC championship and second NCAA Atlantic Regional II crown in three years, doing so by defeating league-foe Mercyhurst in both finals contests. The sub-regional championship also marked Edinboro's first time hosting the event after earning the second seed in the Atlantic Region. The Fighting Scots returned to the Round of 16 following their first-ever appearance in 2014.
Armstrong State, the Southeast Regional I champions who were making their 14
th straight Round-of-16 appearance, improved to 25-2 and will play in their fifth consecutive Elite Eight against 33
rd-ranked NYIT. The Pirates made the Final Four each of the last four seasons, earning a national championship in 2012; they also captured national titles in 2008 and 2009.
The contest was originally scheduled for 5:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. eastern time), but was pushed back to just after 10:00 p.m., midnight on the east coast, due to previous-scheduled matches starting late and/or running longer than expected. The men's tennis championships are part of the NCAA's ninth annual Division II National Championships Festival hosted by Metro State University-Denver and the Denver Sports Commission from May 16-21, 2016. The sports on tap at the festival include men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, softball, and men's and women's tennis.
The Fighting Scots got some early bad news in the doubles competition when an injury to
Mateus Santos forced him and
Daniel Fernandez to forfeit to 12
th-ranked Ignacio Hernandez and Pablo Gor at number-two doubles. Hernandez and Gor held a 2-0 lead when the forfeit was called. Edinboro's number-three tandem of
Kevin Mboko and
Mauricio Santos then fell, 8-1, to Luca Cerin and Marek Pesicka.
Vitor Albanese and
Camilo Moncayo jumped out to a 4-1 lead on court one versus 10
th-ranked Alberto Casas and Jan Porteset, but the latter rallied to break serve twice and eventually took an 8-6 victory.
In the singles competition, Jan Porteset gave the Pirates win number four following a 6-3, 6-0 victory over
Kevin Mboko at number-five singles. Marek Pesicka clinched the dual match for Armstrong State with a 6-2, 6-2 win over
Thomas McCoy at numnber six singles. McCoy was filling in for the injured
Mateus Santos, with Underwood forced to bump up Fernandez and Mboko one spot in the lineup.
Albanese, who won the PSAC Singles championship and finished second at the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional Singles Championships, ended his sophomore season with a team-high 31-3 singles record. At 80-24 overall, he owns a 47-5 career singles record and a 33-19 career doubles record in his two seasons as a Fighting Scot. Fernandez and
Mateus Santos finished with a team-high 22-9 doubles mark, with
Mateus Santos ranking second on the team with a 22-5 singles record. Fernandez (21-6) and
Mauricio Santos (21-9) also captured 20-win singles seasons.
Singles competition
1.
Vitor Albanese (EDIN_M) vs. #5 Pablo Gor (ASU) 3-6, 3-2, unfinished
2.
Camilo Moncayo (EDIN_M) vs. #21 Otakar Lucak (ASU) 2-6, 3-5, unfinished
3.
Mauricio Santos (EDIN_M) vs. Luca Cerin (ASU) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
4.
Daniel Fernandez (EDIN_M) vs. #34 Ignacio Hernandez 3-6, 0-5, unfinished
5. Jan Porteset (ASU) def.
Kevin Mboko (EDIN_M) 6-3, 6-0
6. Marek Pesicka def.
Thomas McCoy (EDIN_M) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #10 Alberto Casas Jan Porteset (ASU) def.
Vitor Albanese/
Camilo Moncayo (EDIN_M) 8-6
2. #12 Ignacio Hernandez Pablo GorDaniel (ASU) def.
Daniel Fernandez/
Mateus Santos (EDIN_M) 2-0, injury forfeit
3. Luca Cerin Marek Pesicka (ASU) def.
Kevin Mboko/
Mauricio Santos (EDIN_M) 8-1
