| Diamond rallied for a big three set triumph at No. 6 singles to clinch the deciding point for the Skyhawks. |
White, Ravichandrakumar and Diamond lead Skyhawks to key early season win
FLUSHING, N.Y. (February 18, 2018) – Stonehill College capped its opening weekend in New York with an impressive 5-4 decision over Saint Thomas Aquinas College, ranked No. 6 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Regional rankings, in non-conference men’s tennis action at the Queens College Tennis Center tonight.
Freshman Russell White (Toronto, Ontario/Saddlebrook Prep (Fla.)) and sophomores Manu Ravichandrakumar (Chennai, India/Saddlebrook Prep (Fla.)) and Aaron Diamond (Moultonborough, New Hampshire/Moultonborough Academy) led the way for Stonehill in the key early season victory. White and Ravichandrakumar were both double-winners for the Skyhawks, opening with an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles. White followed that up with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles against STAC senior Eddy de Abreu (Palma de Mallorca, Spain), while Ravichandrakumar posted a similar straight sets win at No. 4 singles against sophomore Enej Hasicevic (Palma de Mallorca, Spain), 6-4, 6-3.
Diamond provided the decisive point for Stonehill with his comeback win at No. 6 singles against STAC sophomore Luke Taplin (Auckland, New Zealand). He rallied from a set down for the second-straight day for a victory, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Senior Tom Bellio (Saint Joseph, Michigan/Saint Joseph) and freshman Trent Newman (Old Greenwich, Connecticut/South Burlington) posted an impressive win at No. 1 doubles for the second-straight day, this time handing the Skyhawks a 2-1 edge following doubles play. The duo won in a tiebreaker for the second-straight match as well, edging sophomore Jose Robles (Bogota, Columbia) and freshman Jakob Ljungberg (Stockholm, Sweden), 9-8 (7-4) in the match.
Senior Andreu Ferragut-Lluch (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) and freshman Paul Voigt (Cologne, Germany) were double-winners for St. Thomas Aquinas. The combo teamed up for the Spartans’ lone doubles point with their 8-5 victory at No. 3. Ferragut-Lluch followed that up with a 6-3, 6-4 decision at No. 2 singles against Newman, while Voight won at No. 5.
Stonehill (2-2, 0-0 NE10) is back on the courts on Friday when it visits Gordon College for a non-conference matchup at Manchester Athletic Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea at 6 p.m. St. Thomas Aquinas (4-3, 0-0 ECC) hosts Le Moyne College on Wednesday, March 7, at 1 p.m.
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