STAC Men's Tennis Advances to Sixth Straight ECC Championship Final with 4-0 Shutout Victory Over UDC

Posted: Apr 25, 2025

Flushing, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Tennis team advanced to its sixth straight East Coast Conference Championship Final with a 4-0 shutout victory over the University of the District of Columbia in the first round on Friday afternoon at the Queens College Tennis Bubble.

No. 2 seeded STAC improves to 16-5 on the year, while UDC closes its 2024-25 campaign at 8-8.

STAC opened first round action with a strong performance in doubles play, by taking two-of-three matchups. The duo of Don Vinz Lominoque and Nagamitsu Kuroda doubled up Oskar Karos & Filippo Vatteroni, 6-3 at No. 2, before Queens evened things with a 6-4 victory by Louis Mangeon & Louka Queguiner against Seth Newman and Henry Ronnberg. However, the pair of Ondrej Sramek & Erik Victor Tauson took a 7-5 decision over Sebastiano Palma & Elouan Queguine at the No. 3 position to secure the first team point.

Once the sides moved to singles action, there was no turning back for St. Thomas Aquinas, as the maroon and gold claimed the first three matches from the Firebirds to secure the win and advance to Saturday's championship. Henry Ronnberg started the victory spree in the No. 6 slot, taking a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Sebastiano Palma. Erik Victor Tauson followed the trend, taking a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Elouan Queguiner in the No. 3 slot to give the Spartans a commanding 3-0 lead and put UDC on the ropes, facing elimination. Ondrej Sramek delivered the final knockout blow in the No. 5 position, taking a three-set decision (7-5, 1-6, 6-1) against Ghali Ouajahat Filali to end the postseason contest.

STAC 4/UDC 0 - OFFICIAL RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. Louis Mangeon & Louka Queguiner (UDC) def. Seth Newman & Henry Ronnberg (STAC), 6-4

2. Don Vinz Lominoque & Nagamitsu Kuroda (STAC) def. Oskar Karos & Filippo Vatteroni (UDC), 6-3

3. Ondrej Sramek & Erik Victor Tauson (STAC) vs. Sebastiano Palma & Elouan Queguiner (UDC), 7-5

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*

SINGLES

1. Seth Newman (STAC) vs. Louis Mangeon (UDC) 7-5, 5-3 (UNFINISHED)

2. Lorenzo Meschini (STAC) vs. Louka Queguiner (UDC) 7-5, 4-4 (UNFINISHED)

3. Erik Victor Tauson (STAC) def. Elouan Queguiner (UDC) 7-5, 6-1

4. Don Vinz Lominoque (STAC) vs. Oskar Karos (UDC) 6-3, 6-5 (UNFINISHED)

5. Ondrej Sramek (STAC) def. Ghali Ouajahat Filali (UDC) 7-5, 1-6, 6-1

6. Henry Ronnberg (STAC) def. Sebastiano Palma (UDC) 6-1, 6-0

Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5*

UDC Record: 8-8, 3-3 ECC - #5 NCAA D2 East

STAC Record: 16-5, 4-2 ECC - #2 NCAA D2 East

ROCKHILL REPORT:

"I thought UDC was terrific today," said Head Coach Dan Rockhill. "They fought and made us very uncomfortable to start the match. Our players know that they cannot afford a slow start tomorrow against Queens."

"Mitsu, our MIP today, was outstanding in his doubles match," stated Rockhill. "He served very well and was a pterodactyl at the net putting away ball after ball. We were gritty in the singles. It was a good thing to be in the semifinal match today as the players found their rhythm and gained confidence as the match progressed. Henry gave us a big lift, getting us point number two and I thought both Lorenzo and Seth were in great form."

"I have a feeling tomorrow's match will be a lot of fun," commented Rockhill. "Queens is really good, and even better in their bubble. The good news is that all of the pressure is on them tomorrow, as they are #1 in the region and supposed to win. Let's see how far we have come."

UP NEXT:

No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas takes on the top seed and hosts, Queens College, in the ECC Men's Tennis Championship Final on Saturday (April 26) at 4:20 p.m. The Spartans are seeking their second conference title in the last four seasons.