LINCROFT, N.J. ? Fresh off of thumping UMES Wednesday, the Monmouth University men's tennis team gave NEC rival Quinnipiac all they could handle before falling, 4-3, on Thursday afternoon in Lincroft, N.J. The loss dropped MU's record to 5-13 overall, 2-3 in the NEC, while Quinnipiac improved to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in the NEC.
Hosting their second home match in as many days, the Hawks three, four, and five singles players rallied to give MU a chance to win. After dropping first and second singles soundly, freshman Laurence Heads (Stockton-on-Tees, England/Repton School) provided the initial spark for the Hawks, defeating the Bobcats' Lane in third singles action, 6-4, 6-2.
Fellow classmate David Sherwood (Little Egg Harbor, N.J./Pinelands) took his fourth singles match to three sets, rallying from a 2-6 first set loss to beat Quinnipiac's Kwei, 6-3, in the second set. Sherwood then used his second set momentum to narrowly edge out Kwei, 7-6, for the second point on the afternoon for the Blue and White.
Coming back from a two-match singles hiatus, sophomore Ian Terpilowski (Mount Macedon, Victoria, Australia/Braemar College) posted the final singles point on the afternoon for Monmouth, with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over QU's Feldman.
In the most exciting finish of the spring championship season, and a preview of what could be in the upcoming NEC Championships, match point went down to doubles action. The first doubles duo of Benjamin Evenden (Cresco, Pa./Ridgewood N.J.) and Terpilowski competed in a see-saw match that ended when the Bobcats' team of Mikkelson and Kwei finally defeated the Hawks pair, 9-8. Monmouth second and third doubles then fell short, 8-5 and 8-3 respectively to give QU the match deciding doubles point.
The Hawks continue to be led by the dynamic duo of freshmen Heads and Sherwood, as Heads has posted a 14-4 record while Sherwood owns a 10-9 record.
Monmouth returns to the courts on Wednesday, April 15th when they host their final match of the season against NJIT in Lincroft, N.J. with first serve schedule for 2:30 p.m.
