Newark, NJ/Bogota, NJ - The NJIT men's tennis team came from behind to defeat visiting Sacred Heart 4-3 in a match that began at Branch Brook Park in Newark, but was forced to be completed indoors at the Bogota Raquet Club due to rain.
The Highlanders are now 7-3 on the season, while the Pioneers conclude their season with a record of 3-3.
"I'm proud of the boys for fighting so hard and staying positive," said Head Coach
Ira Miller. "The right attitude by all won the match for us."
SHU got on the scoreboard first after winning two of three doubles matches.
Abdullah Fouad and
Amine El Kholti pulled out a win at the #2 spot, but the Pioneers got wins at #1 and #3 to go ahead 1-0 heading into singles action.
The teams then split the first four singles matches, with SHU coming away victorious at #2 and #3 and NJIT winning at #1 (Fouad) and #5 (
Ammar Fekry).
This meant the Highlanders would need wins from
Ashwin Kanetkar at #4 and
Adrian Tudor at #6 in order for NJIT to win the match.
Kanetkar took care of business with a straight-set win, while Tudor dropped the first set, but bounced back to win the second and force a winner-takes-all third set. In the third set, the Canada native battled back from a 5-2 deficit to win 7-5 and clinch the match for NJIT.
The Highlanders will look to make it two in a row on Saturday when they host Villanova in their final home match of the season. NJIT will meet the Wildcats at 1pm at the USTA National Tennis Center in Queens.
COMPLETE RESULTS
