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Jeremy Quiroz
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NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. - The Niagara men's tennis dropped its regular season finale against the Fairfield Stags, 5-2, on Saturday night from the SportsPlex. The Purple Eagles will be the fourth seed in next week's MAAC Championship.
"I was proud of the way we played doubles tonight," head coach Anthony Nguyen said. "We just did not play well in singles tonight, and that had a lot to do with the way Fairfield played; they took it to us so hats off to them. For a team as young as ours we've now seen how competitive the conference is. We'll get in a couple good days of practice in preparation for MAAC's. We know what we need to do; now it's all about going out there and seizing the opportunity."
Niagara (9-13, 3-3 MAAC) snapped its doubles losing streak with a strong outing by each team. The No. 1 tandem of Jeremy Quiroz and Matthew Kane defeated Fairfield's Joe Michalisin and Erik Kremheller, 8-6. Niagara was edged in the No. 2 doubles, but won the doubles point when the team of Brandon Gallegos and Joseph Zelic topped Dan Sauter and Mark Kremheller, 8-6.
In singles play, the Purple Eagles failed to keep up the same form. Niagara lost five singles matches, all in straight-sets, with the closet coming in the No. 3 singles; Gallegos lost to Rob Ferrante, 7-6 (6), 6-4. Quiroz picked up the Purple Eagles' lone victory when Dan Sauter retired up one game in the second set.
Niagara opens the 2010 MAAC Tennis Championship against fifth-seeded Saint Peter's on Friday, April 23 at 9 a.m. from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Fairfield 5, Niagara University 2
Singles competition
1. Quiroz, Jeremy (NIA) def. Sauter, Dan (FFDM) 7-6, 0-1, retired
2. Michalisin, Joe (FFDM) def. Kane, Matt (NIA) 6-1, 6-4
3. Ferrante, Rob (FFDM) def. Gallegos, Brandon (NIA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
4. Berthod, Ryan (FFDM) def. Zelic, Joseph (NIA) 6-3, 6-4
5. Kremheller, Erik (FFDM) def. Sarrasin, David (NIA) 6-0, 6-0
6. Lessing, Mike (FFDM) def. Blair, Jordan (NIA) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Quiroz, Jeremy/Kane, Matt (NIA) def. Michalisin, Joe/Kremheller, Erik (FFDM) 8-6
2. Ferrante, Rob/Berthod, Ryan (FFDM) def. Sarrasin, David/Blair, Jordan (NIA) 8-4
3. Gallegos, Brandon/Zelic, Joseph (NIA) def. Sauter, Dan/Kremheller, Mark (FFDM) 8-6
