NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara men’s and women’s tennis teams begin their quest for the MAAC Championship on Friday, April 17 from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The women’s team is the top seed in the 2009 tournament, while the men will play as the fifth seed.
The Niagara women’s tennis team (9-11, 7-0 MAAC) enters the MAAC Championship as the number one seed after posting an unbeaten 7-0 record in conference play. This is the third time in the last seven seasons (2003, 2004) that Niagara has gone through the MAAC unscathed. This season’s team became the first team since 2004 to go unbeaten in MAAC play among Niagara athletic teams.
Head coach Paul Calkins will be looking for his third MAAC Championship. The Purple Eagles won the regular season and conference tournament in 2003 and captured the 2005 MAAC Championship as the number two seed.
Seniors Vanja Lakic (Waterloo, Ont.) and Victoria Tiso (Clarence, N.Y.) have been key contributors on the underclassmen laden team. Lakic is 15-17 in single matches, 12-8 in doubles and 7-0 in the MAAC, while Tiso is 5-1 in MAAC play; sophomore Raquel Solis (Puebla, Mexico) is also 7-0 in MAAC play.
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Joe Heckley
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Leading the team is freshman Alyssa Lucas (Clarkston, Mich.). Lucas has the best single record (19-9) and doubles record (12-6) on the team. She has been playing in the number one doubles spot since Jan. 24 and is the number two starter in singles. Lucas was named MAAC Player of the Week on Feb. 24.
The women’s team opens the MAAC Championship with a 9 a.m. match versus the no. 8 seed Rider Broncs. The Purple Eagles dropped the Broncs, 7-0, in their first home match of the spring season on March 8.
The Niagara men’s team (4-13, 3-3 MAAC) begins the MAAC Championship against the Loyola Greyhounds on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Niagara, Loyola and Saint Peter’s all finished with a 3-3 conference record and seedings were decided after three tie-breakers. Niagara landed the fifth seed and will play no. 4 seed Loyola.
The senior class consisting of Nick Bolea (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), Marc Dickinson (Saskatoon, Sask.), Joe Heckley (San Jose, Calif.) and Steve Kopf (Grand Island, N.Y.) looks to continue its success against MAAC teams. The senior class is 21-12 in four seasons against MAAC opponents in the regular season and conference tournament.
