WEST WINDSOR, NJ – Cole Thurgur (Ottawa, Ontario/Nepean) won at both singles and doubles, battling back from down a set to earn a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2, victory at No. 3 singles as the sixth-seeded Rider University men's tennis team knocked off second-seeded Siena, 4-3, to advance to the MAAC Championship Final for the first time in program history. The Broncs improved to 11-13 on the year and will face top-seeded and defending champion Quinnipiac at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Mercer County Tennis Center.
The Broncs began the day by taking the doubles point with wins at the top two flights.
Dhruv Tangri (Punjab, India/Cambridge International School) and
Matteus Froberg Dahlin (Lidingo, Sweden/Hersby Gymnasium) paired on a 6-2 win over Oscar Martinez and Emilio Zavala Salinas at No. 1, while
Roger Martinez (Girona, Spain/Saint George's School) and Thurgur earned a decisive 6-1 win over Dylan Breen and Fabio Loch Varella at No. 2.
In singles, the Saints went on the offensive, winning the first two matches to finish at Nos. 1 and 6, taking a 2-1 lead.
Axel Engstrom evened the match with a 6-3, 6-1, victory over Breen at No. 5, before Froberg Dahlin got the Broncs to within a victory of the match win with a 6-3, 6-1, decision over Fabio Varella.
The Saints evened the match at 3-3 with a win at No. 4, setting the stage for the decisive match at No. 3. After falling in a tie-breaker, 7-6 (6), to Maxwell Acri in the first set, Thurgur battled back to take the second set, 6-3, forcing the third set for the match. After each player held serve in the first two games, Thurgur broke Acri and held his own to jump in front, 3-1. After Acri held serve to pull to within 3-2, Thurgur won the final three games, breaking Acri once more to clinch the victory with a 6-2 set win.
Thurgur improved to 10-0 against league competition in singles this season with the win.
The Broncs are the lowest-seeded team to ever advance to the championship match. After previously being a singles tournament with a point system to decide the team champion, the tournament moved to a dual format in 2008 with all eight teams in the league qualifying for the tournament. After three years in this format, the tournament moved to only the top four teams qualifying. This season, with the additions of Merrimack and Sacred Heart to push the league to nine schools sponsoring tennis programs, the conference changed to a six-team championship format.
