Pictured Above: The 2018-19 Wagner men's tennis team following today's championship match (Credit: Larry Levanti)
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West Windsor, NJ - The Wagner men's tennis team fell in the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship match, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon to top-seeded Bryant University. The loss ends the Seahawks' season as Bryant won its sixth straight NEC title.
Today's championship appearance marked the second straight year that the Seahawks have reached the finals, as they also fell to the Bulldogs in last year's finale.
At the conclusion of the match, the All-NEC Tournament was announced as senior
Ilya Kneppelhout became the third senior to be named to the All-Tournament team in program history, joining former Seahawks,
Charlton Boyd and
Allen Wang, who were tabbed to the inaugural team a season ago. Junior
Hans Ohrner joined Kneppelhout in collecting All-Tournament honors.
The Green & White battled throughout the championship match as the senior pairing of
Anatoliy Lashkul and
Dale Sandy fought valiantly at No. 1 doubles before being outlasted by Matt Kuhar and Artur Jakubowski, 6-4.
The Bulldogs claimed the doubles point with a 6-1 win at No. 2 as Trent Massam and Guido Argentini defeated seniors
Ilya Kneppelhout and
Eric Poland, 6-1. No. 3 doubles went unfinished as
Lucas Gonzalez and
Dylan Walters battled back in the match to make it 5-4 against Grant Pertile and Jorge Ortiz-Garcia.
Ortiz-Garcia put Bryant up 2-0 with a 6-2; 6-2 win at No. 5 singles over Poland. Lashkul was bested by Kuhar at No. 1, 6-2; 6-1 that put Bryant one win away from clinching the title. Wilson Dong managed to record a 6-4; 6-2 victory at second singles to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.
The loss ends the collegiate careers for five outstanding Wagner seniors,
Lucas Gonzalez,
Ilya Kneppelhout,
Anatoliy Lashkul,
Eric Poland and
Dale Sandy.
The quartet of Kneppelhout, Lashkul, Poland, and Sandy have etched their name in program history, as they, along with Ohrner, junior
Siddharth Anand, and
Dylan Walters become the first-ever members of the team to appear in two straight NEC finals.
Collectively, the senior group of four accounted for 44 wins during their respective Seahawk tenures. Individually, this group ranks among the all-time career leaders on Wagner's wins list.
Poland wraps up his Seahawk career with 52 singles victories, only the second Seahawk in program history (since 2005) to amass 50 or more wins, joining Boyd, who finished with 72. Poland's .531 win percentage is third-highest in program history.
Kneppelhout finishes his career tied for fourth on the all-time career singles wins list with 40, matching Walters. Lashkul notched 39 wins in three-years on Grymes Hill while Sandy posted 38.
Most Career Singles Wins
bold names - 2018-19 seniors
italics name - 2019-20 senior
In regards to doubles, Kneppelhout finishes second on the all-time doubles wins list, tallying 64, which is second most in program history. Poland ranks third with 60 while Sandy (54), Lashkul 44) round out the top-five
