Matt Stopp leads Hound mens tennis past Dowling, advance to regional final

May 3, 2007

EASTON, Mass. --- Senior captain MATT STOPP (Altoona, PA/Altoona) won his No. 2 singles match and teamed with junior ANTONIO RECALDE (Ciudad del Este, Paraguay/San Isadro Labrador) to win at No. 1 doubles as Assumption College got past Dowling, NY, 5-1, in the semifinals of the N.C.A.A. Division II East Regional here THURSDAY at Stonehill College.

The Greyhounds, now 17-0 overall, will face Concordia, NY in the regional final Friday at 11 a.m. Concordia (16-2 overall) reached the final by ousting host and Northeast-10 Conference member Stonehill, 5-0.

The final will be a matchup of the nine-time Northeast-10 Conference champions vs. the East Coast Conference champions. The winner will advance to the national championship tournament scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, May 9-12 at Sanlando Park, Altamonte Springs, FL hosted by Rollins College and the Central Florida Sports Commission.

This is the sixth consecutive year the Greyhounds have advanced to the regional final. Concordia won last year's matchup, 5-1. The Greyhounds last won the regional in 2002 beating Bloomsburg, PA (5-4) on their own courts.

The No. 1 doubles match was the highlight match pitting the Greyhounds No. 3 ITA East region ranked team of Stopp Recalde against the Golden Lions duo of Gustavo Sanchez and Jose Gomez. The Hounds power game was too much for the Lions in an 8-2 rout.

Stopp then defeated Gomez at No. 2 singles (6-2, 6-3) and Recalde (ranked No. 10 in singles in the ITA East) was on his way to winning at No. 1 singles vs. Sanchez (No. 8 ranked). He was leading 6-0, 5-2 when the team had reached the fifth point in the match.

Freshman TOM NOWAK (Medfield, MA/Medfield) won his first-ever N.C.A.A. match, 6-1, 6-3 over Pedro Munoz at No. 5 singles.

The Hounds also got default wins at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. Dowling's lone point came at No. 2 doubles as Petr Grishchenko and Saulo Gonzales outlasted in a tiebreaker (7-3) sophomore JARED DORFMAN (Providence, RI/LaSalle) and senior DAVID MARSHALL (Newington, CT/Kingswood-Oxford), 9-8 (7 3).

Singles competition

1. Antonio Recalde (ASM) vs. Gustavo Sanchez (DOW) 6-0, 5-2, unfinished

2. Matt Stopp (ASM) def. Jose Gomez (DOW) 6-2, 6-3

3. Jared Dorfman (ASM) vs. Petr Grishchenko (DOW) 4-6, 1-3, unfinished

4. Dave Marshall (ASM) vs. Saulo Gonzales (DOW) 2-6, 2-5, unfinished

5. Tom Nowak (ASM) def. Pedro Munoz (DOW) 6-1, 6-3

6. Steve Tlumacki (ASM) def. No player (DOW), by default

Doubles competition

1. Antonio Recalde/Matt Stopp (ASM) def. Gustavo Sanchez/Jose Gomez (DOW) 8-2

2. Petr Grishchenko/Saulo Gonzales (DOW) def. Jared Dorfman/Dave Marshall (ASM) 9-8 (7-3)

3. Tom Nowak/Steve Tlumacki (ASM) def. Pedro Munoz/No player (DOW), by default