The College of Staten Island men’s tennis team won for the second-straight time, and with it clinched a first-round home playoff game, defeating John Jay College, 7-2, this evening at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY. The Dolphins advanced to 4-8 overall and 4-3 in the CUNYAC, while the Bloodhounds dipped to 3-11, 2-5, respectively.
A make-up from a previously postponed contest, the game was the last one to finish the CUNYAC calendar, and with the win the Dolphins will start the CUNYAC Postseason Championship as the No. 4 seed in the eight team tournament, and will host No. 5 City College of New York on Friday, April 25, at 3:30pm, at the CSI Tennis Center.
On the courts tonight, CSI got ahead first with a 2-1 lead after doubles. The Dolphins’ team of Timur Shamuradov and Chris Pinto were 8-2 winners in the pole position, while in the No. 3 spot, Ed Ruffe and James Chuenpratum blanked JJC’s Marco Guzman and Zaq Kimpolo, 8-0.
When play switched over to singles, a pair of Dolphins breezed by their matches quickly. Ruffe was a 6-0, 6-0, winner over JJC’s Guzman in the No. 5 spot, and one step lower, Chuenpratum was a 6-1, 6-1, winner over Kimpolo. In the No. 3 spot, Pinto scored a 6-3, 6-1, victory over Luis Chirinos. That clinched things for CSI, but for extra measure, Shamuradov took a 7-5, 6-1, win over Yevgeniy Reminnik, and at No. 2, Daniel Ursomanno took a hard-fought, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) decision over Greg Gon.
Up next for CSI will be the Beavers of CCNY. The Dolphins scored an 8-1 win over CCNY in their early-season meeting, what was then CSI’s first win of the season. In other quarterfinal games, top-seeded Baruch will face No. 8 Lehman College, No. 2 Hunter College will take on No. 7 York College, and No. 3 Brooklyn College will lock up with No. 6 John Jay. The top-seeds all host the quarterfinal round.
?The quarterfinal winners on Friday will move on to semifinal play on Sunday, April 27, at Queens College. Should CSI win on Friday they would play the Baruch-Lehman winner at 1pm. The other two quarterfinal winners will play at 3pm on Sunday. The CUNYAC Championship is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, at National Tennis Center at 5pm.
