WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – For the first time since 2013, Fairfield University Men's Tennis advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship Match on Sunday at Mercer County Tennis Center. The opponent was a familiar foe in top-seeded Monmouth. The Stags and Hawks played tight matches up and down the lineup, with Monmouth taking a 4-2 victory to win the conference crown.
 
Monmouth got out of the gates with a 1-0 lead. Allan Magid and Lewis Edwards were clipped at #3 Doubles, 6-4, with Keean Shah and Jonathan Olive Blanco edged by a similarly close score at #2 Doubles, 7-5. The unfinished match saw Kaya Gore and Stathis Tsiranidis play to a 5-5 deadlock at #1.
 
In singles play, Gabriel Busato got by Griffin Schlesinger in straight sets to extend the lead to 2-0. Fairfield got on the board when Gore – the 2021 MAAC Player of the Year – earned a 6-1, 6-3 win at #1.
 
Two tight sets when the wa of Victor Castro over Olive-Blanco – 7-6, 7-5 – at #3 Singles to bring Monmouth within one point of the championship. Lewis Edwards kept Fairfield alive with a three-set win at #4, pushing the match 3-2 with Tsiranidis at #2 and Shah at #5 both heading to a third set.
 
Ultimately, Sergio Martinez picked up the clincher for Monmouth at #5 – with Tsirandis holding a 5-4 lead at the #2 spot – to seal the match at a 4-2 final.
 
The Stags complete the 2021 spring season with a record of 6-4. Fairfield was 4-1 in MAAC regular season play to earn the second seed in the conference tournament. Monmouth improved to 14-2 with the win.