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Jeremy Quiroz
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The Niagara men’s and women’s tennis teams start their title run for the 2010 MAAC Championship on Friday, April 23 from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The men’s team is the fifth-seed and will play against the No. 4 seed Loyola Greyhounds at 9 a.m. The fifth-seeded women’s team will face fourth-seeded Siena at 1:30 p.m.
The men’s team (9-13, 3-3 MAAC) finished in a three-way tie with Saint Peter’s and Loyola to end the season. A blind draw was used to decide the seedings; Niagara was the last name drawn and will be the fifth seed. This is the second-straight season that Niagara has been a three-way tie to end the season and ironically ending with the exact seeds with Loyola and Saint Peter’s. Niagara defeated Loyola, 6-1, in the first round last season, but was edged by the Greyhounds, 4-3, this season.
Niagara, led by second-year head coach Anthony Nguyen, had a +4 win improvement from last season and features no seniors on the squad. The freshman trio of Jeremy Quiroz, Brandon Gallegos and Matthew Kane has combined for 38 of Niagara’s 74 singles wins. Sophomores David Lemieux-Sarrasin and Joe Zelic are 12-13 and 14-13, respectively, and are a combined 6-4 in MAAC play.
Quiroz, Niagara’s No. 1, led the Purple Eagles with a 16-10 record in all singles competition and became the first freshman to lead the team in wins since Erick Garcia completed the feat during the 2002-03 season. Quiroz was 13-9 in dual matches, which was third in the conference, and led the MAAC with a 5-1 conference mark among No. 1 singles.
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Brittany Walters
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Head coach Paul Calkins is looking for his third MAAC Championship after winning the tournament in 2003 and 2005. The women’s team (6-17, 3-4 MAAC) features a young roster as well, with Emma Cunnington as the only senior on the team. Cunnington won her last home match on Sunday as the Purple Eagles defeated Manhattan, 5-2, to finish the regular season.
Junior Brittany Walters led the Purple Eagles with a 15-15 overall record and 5-2 MAAC record. Walters finished the season winning eight of her last nine matches, including winning seven straight from March 21 to April 13.
Niagara fell to Siena, 5-2, in the teams’ previous meeting on April 11 in Albany, N.Y.
