ORLANDO, Fla. – Niagara split its Thursday matches in Orlando, winning the night cap after falling in its first match of the day.  
 
Niagara 2, N.C. Central 5
The Purple Eagles (3-6, 1-1 MAAC) claimed victories in two singles matches but couldn't overcome N.C. Central's strong performance across the board.
 
Jose Maria Garcia provided a bright spot for Niagara with a three-set comeback victory at No. 4 singles, defeating Naresh Bharathy 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Gurustat Makkar added another win for the Purple Eagles at No. 5 singles, outlasting Antoni Pankowski in a hard-fought match that featured a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3.
 
In doubles play, Makkar teamed with Rohan Srivastava to secure Niagara's lone doubles victory, defeating Oliver Saarinen and Naresh Bharathy 6-3.
 
N.C. Central (8-4, 1-0 MEAC) dominated the top singles positions, with Hugo Hidalgo, Kareem Abdul Hakim, and Rodrigo Alves all recording straight-set victories over their Niagara opponents.
 
Niagara 7, West Chester 0
The Purple Eagles (4-5) controlled the competition from start to finish, winning all six singles matches and all three doubles contests against the Golden Rams (0-7).
 
Niagara's top singles player Tanner Bedard set the tone with a commanding 6-0, 6-0 victory over Lucas Henke. Vid Maric followed with an equally impressive 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles against Andres Urrutia.
 
The most competitive match of the day came at No. 3 singles, where Niagara's Mikolaj Kowal outlasted Brady Burns in a three-set thriller. After splitting the first two sets 6-2, 2-6, Kowal claimed the decisive tiebreaker 10-6.
 
In doubles play, the Niagara duos proved equally formidable. The No. 1 team of Bedard and Maric defeated Burns and Felix Weber 6-1, while Rohan Srivastava and Gurustat Makkar matched that score at No. 2 doubles against Urrutia and M. DeVasconcellos.
 
Up Next
Niagara will take on St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, March 14.