FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's tennis team will open the Spring 2022 season Sunday, making the short trip up the coast to take on in-state foe Yale. First serve between the Stags and the Bulldogs is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. from the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven.
SCOUTING THE STAGS
Sam Hodges and Charlie Morkel lead Fairfield into the competitive season after posting eight wins apiece in singles play during the fall. Andrew Immink finished just behind them tallying seven wins, followed by a pair of players with six wins each, including the 2021 MAAC Player of the Year Kaya Gore.
In doubles play, Will O'Brien ended last semester atop the stat sheet for the Stags recording eight wins overall, including four victories alongside Andrew Immink. Jonathan Olive-Blanco finished just behind him at 7-4, one win ahead of Hodges and last year's MAAC Rookie of the Year Keean Shah.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Yale comes into the weekend led by Michael Sun, who enters the spring ranked as the No 69 player in the ITA national rankings. Sun's highlighted by an appearance in the quarterfinals at the ITA Northeast Regionals in October. That run included a win over Alex Kotzen of Columbia, the No. 2 seed in that tournament and currently ranked No. 12 in the nation.
Theo Dean also performed well throughout the fall campaign for the Bulldogs, who picking up a pair of victories at the Orange Lawn Invitational in the fall and also advanced to the round of 32 at ITA Regionals. Doubles action saw the Bulldogs partnership of Renaud Lefevre and Luke Neal advance to the round of 16 at ITA's and look to be a top threat for Yale this season.
STAGS TABBED SECOND IN MAAC PRESEASON POLL
The MAAC announced the 2022 Preseason Coaches' Poll for men's tennis on Jan. 13, with Fairfield picked to finish second in the conference heading into the Spring campaign. The Stags earned 41 overall votes, finishing behind defending MAAC Champion Monmouth, which was picked to finish first with 49 overall votes and all seven possible first place nods. Quinnipiac followed the Stags with 34 votes, followed by Siena, Marist, Niagara, and Rider to round out the poll.
STAGS SPRING SLATE
The Spring 2022 calendar sees Fairfield play 17 matches overall, beginning with 11 games against non-conference opponents, before a six-game MAAC slate to lead into the conference championships in late April.
Sunday's meeting with Yale is the first of six straight matches on the road and gives the Stags an early season test before playing two matches on Feb. 6 against Bryant and Army West Point. The following week takes the team to Pennsylvania to battle Lafayette on Feb. 12, before heading down to North Carolina for a pair of matches UNC Greensboro and UNC Wilmington on Feb. 19 and 20.
The Stags will make their back-to-back appearances as the home team when they return to Connecticut for weekend matches against Wagner (Feb. 27) and Merrimack (Mar. 5). Fairfield then heads back out on the road, taking a trip to South Carolina for three matches the week of spring break against the College of Charleston, Wofford, and South Carolina State.
After a nine-day break following the trip down south, the MAAC portion of the schedule begins with a road meeting at Monmouth on Mar. 26, before returning home to Host Niagara Apr. 3. The Stags will then embark on a brief two-game road trip at Marist (Apr. 7) and Siena (Apr. 9) before back-to-back matches at home against Quinnipiac (Apr. 14) and Rider (Apr. 16) to close the regular season.
The 2022 MAAC tennis championships will be held on Saturday, Apr. 23-24 from the Mercer County Park Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Stags will return to action next Sunday making the trip to West Point, N.Y. for a double-dip against Bryant and the host Black Knights. First serve between Fairfield and Bryant is currently slated for 10:00 a.m. with Stags match against Army set to begin at 4:00 p.m.
