2023 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship - First Round
Baruch 5, Farmingdale State 1
MEDFORD, Mass. | Senior Mark Baker (Baldwin, N.Y.) and freshman Ryan Hendel (No. Merrick, N.Y.) won their 13th-consecutive doubles match Friday afternoon, as the Farmingdale State College men's tennis team (14-4) dropped a 5-1 decision against Baruch College (15-4) in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship at Tufts University.
With the victory, the Bearcats will next face the second-ranked Jumbos (20-1) in Saturday's second round at 10 a.m.
Baker and Hendel collected a doubles point for the Rams in the top flight, besting the Bearcats' Christopher Tham and Nicholas Santiago by an 8-2 score. the duo reversed an 8-5 victory by the Baruch pair during the teams' regular-season meeting on March 21, with Baker and Hendel completing the 2022-23 campaign with a 13-1 mark at the top flight. Additionally, Baker moved to a school-record mark of 46-5 (.902) in doubles play in his illustrious Farmingdale State career.
Junior Alan Sabovic (Bohemia, N.Y.) and senior Muhammad Sawar (Brentwood, N.Y.) fell by an 8-1 margin in No. 2 doubles competition against Jim Bauer and Juan Paredes, while the Bearcats' Liam Cooper and Philip Dwan registered an 8-6 decision over junior Ethan Cintron (Bayside, N.Y.) and senior Matthew Olkhovetsky (Great Neck, N.Y.) at the third flight, to give Baruch a 2-1 advantage heading into singles competition.
Sawar fell by a 6-1, 6-2 score at the fourth singles flight to Santiago, while Sabovic was downed at No. 2 by Bauer, 6-1 and 6-3. Sophomore Vincent Manzi (Massapequa, N.Y.) played the Bearcats' George Arteaga to a two-game margin in the first set at the No. 5 flight, before the Baruch player clinched his side's team match with a 6-1 result in set two. Hendel was up by one set, 6-4, in his third-flight match against Paredes when the Bearcats wrapped up the victory.