West Windsor, NJ – The Wagner College men's tennis team made history at the NEC Tennis Tournament on Thursday, becoming the first #7 seed to upset a #2 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
The Seahawks defeated Le Moyne 4-3 behind strong doubles play and clutch performances in singles from freshmen Eddie Schmidt and Damian Janiszewski. Graduate Antoine Nivault got the clincher with the match tied 3-3.
The doubles point came down to court #1. Janiszewski and Nivault won their #3 doubles match 6-3. However, Schmidt and Pablo Rodriguez dropped the #2 court, 6-2.
Graduates Gabriele Zugarelli and Carlos Rodriguez came back from 1-4 to upset the undefeated #1 team of Adrian Daniel and defending NEC Player of the year, Peter Hatton. A deuce point at 4-4 was the shift in momentum for the entire day. After a long scramble on both sides of the net, Rodriguez shocked Hatton by running down a Daniel volley, several strides off the court, behind the baseline, hitting a low slice laser that Hatton could not lift above the net cord. Hatton and Daniel were 12-0 on the season before Zugarelli and Rodriguez closed the set 6-4 to the roar of the Wagner crowd at Mercer County Park in New Jersey.
The singles involved straight set wins for the Seahawks on courts 2, 4, and 6. Schmidt was the first to wrap his match at #2, 6-4, 7-5 over Daniel. Carlos Rodriguez fought well, but fell 6-3, 6-4 to Hatton at #1. Pablo Rodriguez dropped his match at #3, 6-3, 6-2, but Janiszewski pulled the Seahawks back in front with his win over Luke Hoyland, 6-4, 6-2.
Senior Jordan Hunte looked to have wrestled control of his match from LeMoyne's Jacob Maravillas. Maravillas won the first set, 7-5. However, Hunte took the second 6-1 and was leading 1-0 in the third when he rolled his ankle. The injury forced his retirement from the match and knotted the event 3-3.
By the time Hunte retired on #5, Nivault was in total control on court #6. Tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy as Nivault clinched 7-6 (0), 6-3, sending Wagner into the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
Next up, Wagner will face #3 seed LIU in the semifinals on Friday, April 18. First serve is set for 9:00 AM.
