The Central Atlantic collegiate conference Championship Men's Tennis Championship match between Chestnut Hill College and Thomas Jefferson University turned out to be a highly competitive won with the winner not being decided until the final two singles matches. Jefferson captured four of the five completed singles matches to win the conference championship 4-2.
The Griffins fall to 11-5 overall and await the possibility of an NCAA regional bid. The team is currently ranked #5 in the region. Jefferson, ranked #4 in the region improved to 14-4 with the win and earn the conference's automatically qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Chestnut Hill took the early lead by winning two of the three doubles matches with both wins turning out to be close contests.
Joao Sousa (Figueroa de Foz, Portugal) and
Domagoj Dugandzic (Stuttgart, Germany) earned a 7-5 win over Odissey Kavak and Mateo Navarro at #3 doubles. Shortly thereafter, the Griffins #2 doubles team of
Noah Cutting (Bury St. Edmunds, England) and
Mark Gladkyy (Vineland, N.J.) won a tiebreaker game to capture the win 7-6 (7-5) and give the Griffins the doubles point. The #1 doubles match was also in a tiebreaker when it was halted due to the Griffins sinning the other two doubles contests.
With a 1-0 lead the Griffins moved on to singles play.
Tom Pitchley (London, England) took Hubert Theriault to three sets before the CACC Player of the Year defeated the Griffins senior at #1 singles 1-6, 6-0, 6-1, tying the match at 1-1.
Sousa defeated Navarro at #3 singles, 6-3, 6-2 to give the lead in the match back to the Griffins 2-1 before the Rams tied it up again as Enrique Soto defeated Dugandzic at #5 singles, 6-4, 6-4. Hannibal Borg then earned a 6-4, 7-5 win over
Joseph Gregory Kvint (Huntington Valley, Pa.) at #4 singles to push the rams to the brink of victory with a 3-2 lead.
Jefferson needed to win just one of the remaining two matches to clinch the title. Gladkyy won the first set of his match 7-6 (8-6) against Jamil Racho before Racho forced a third set with a 6-4 win in the second set. Cutting lost his first set to German Lopez and was down to match point when he battled back to take the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5), forcing a third set for his match as well.
The Rams needed just one win in the final two matches and got it when Racho won the third set against Gladkyy to take the make 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-1 and give Jefferson the championship.
Sousa and Kvint were named to the All-Tournament Team in the awards ceremony that followed.
