QUEENS, N.Y. — Having just begun the Spring season of their second year following a long awaited return, the New Jersey City University men's tennis program already has a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship under its belt (2020-21). Today, Tuesday, March 15, the Gothic Knights faced off with perennial City of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) powerhouse Baruch College in what was likely the start of a budding rivalry for years to come. Jersey City dominated the Bearcats — they have won the CUNYAC Championships and qualified for NCAAs nine times since 2007 — by a score of 8-1, clinching the victory in the first five matches.

The Gothic Knights (2-3) returned to Division III action after playing a pair of tough matches against Division I opposition this past week, and winning three individual matches over that span. Things got started against Baruch (1-1) in doubles as the duo of junior Ryan Weiss (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional) and freshman Olaf de Lange (Maasland, Netherlands/Stedelijk Gymnasium Schiedam) won at #3 over their foes, 8-2. Then, the top NJCU pairing of sophomore Nico Teynie (Rouen, France/Lycée Val de Seine) and senior Theo Bourghelle (Lesquin, France/LaSalle Lille) took home the 8-5 win to put the squad up 2-0. Finally, sophomores Alejandro Ley (Las Palmas, Spain/I.E.S. Politécnico) and Jordi Julia (Barcelona, Spain/IES Sant Quirze del Valles) teamed up for the hard-fought tiebreaking win at second doubles, 8-7(7-5) to make it a 3-0 advantage overall.

Julia was the first to notch a win in singles play and put NJCU up 4-0 with a straight-set, 6-0, 6-1, win at fifth singles. Needing just one more win to clinch the victory, de Lange did just that, winning at sixth singles in straight scorless sets (6-0, 6-0). With the match already at hand, Bourghelle was next to finish, picking up the 6-3, 6-1 win at second singles, followed closely after by Ley at third singles. After Ley dropped the opening set in a tiebreak (6-7(7-0)), he took the second set, 6-1, before finsihing up in the third set, 10-5.

Teynie, who has now won all of matches this season, is 3-0 at first singles including his last two. The sophomore won his match in straight set, 6-2, 7-5. Weiss dropped his match at fourth singles in a hard-fought three sets, winning a second-set tie break and falling in a close third set.

Up Next:
Needing another top tier challenge once agian, the Gothic Knights return to action against another Division I foe. NJCU will host Wagner College — the teams' second meeting this season — on Wednesday, March 23, beginning at 12:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Park Tennis Center in Jersey City.