Dramatic Finish Propels STAC Men's Tennis over Edinboro, 4-3

Posted: Mar 12, 2022

Queens, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Tennis team rode the hot racquet of graduate student Eduard Simo to a dramatic 4-3 victory over Edinboro University on Friday afternoon at the Queens College Tennis Center.

STAC improves to 7-1 overall, while Edinboro falls 5-5.

Edinboro opened the day winning 2-of-3 in doubles play, as the STAC team of Eduard Simo & Ludovico Truffelli beat Bruno Sabio & Rocco Palombarini, 6-0, before the Fighting Scots took the next two with Thibault Dorval & Maksymilian Braziewicz defeating Ivan Laiz & Valentin Baranyi, 6-0 and Ruben Acuna & Kaio Sacchi besting Odysseas Papaioannou & Maximilian Kendler, 6-2 to take the team point.

St. Thomas Aquinas tied the score at 1-1 as No. 4 Odysseas Papaioannou downed Thibault Dorval 6-1, 7-6 (4) to open singles competition. Victories by Ludovico Truffelli over Kaio Sacchi 7-5, 6-4 at No. 5 singles and Ivan Laiz's triumph over Maksymilian Braziewicz 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the No. 6 spot gave STAC a commanding 3-1 advantage. However, Edinboro rallied to tie the score at 3-3 with Gustavo Martins 6-4, 6-3 win over Lennart Lehmann at No. 3 and Bruno Sabio's victory over Maximilian Kendler, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 1 position.

It all came down to the No. 2 matchup featuring Eduard Simo and Ruben Acuna. The Spartans' Simo, down 4-5 and serving, fought off three match points to take the game and the momentum, ultimately winning the third set 7-5 to win the match for St. Thomas Aquinas.

STAC 4/EDINBORO 3 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. Eduard Simo & Ludovico Truffelli (STAC) def. Bruno Sabio & Rocco Palombarini (EU), 6-0

2. Thibault Dorval & Maksymilian Braziewicz (EU) def. Ivan Laiz & Valentin Baranyi (STAC), 6-2

3. Ruben Acuna & Kaio Sacchi (EU) def. Odysseas Papaioannou & Maximilian Kendler, 6-2

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*

SINGLES

1. Bruno Sabio (EU) def. Maximilian Kendler 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

2. Eduard Simo (STAC) def. Ruben Acuna (EU) 0-6, 6-3, 7-5

3. Gustavo Martins (EU) def. Lennart Lehmann (EU) 6-4, 6-3

4. Odysseas Papaioannou (STAC) def. Thibault Dorval (EU) 6-1, 7-6 (4)

5. Ludovico Truffelli (STAC) def. Kaio Sacchi (EU) 7-5, 6-4

6. Ivan Laiz (STAC) def. Maksymilian Braziewicz (EU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

Order of finish: 4, 5, 6, 3, 1, 2*

Edinboro Record: 5-2, 0-0 PSAC

STAC Record: 7-1, 0-0 ECC

Notes: Eduard Simo and Ludovico Truffelli each won both their doubles and singles matches on the afternoon to against the Fighting Scots.

Up Next: St. Thomas Aquinas heads to Florida for its annual Spring Break trip. The Spartans will open against Quincy University on Monday, March 14 at 9:00 a.m. in Orlando.