BROOKLYN, NY – St. Francis Brooklyn men's tennis has captured its first ever Northeast Conference Championship and earned an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tennis Tournament. The Terriers will take on #13 seeded Columbia, the hosts for the first two rounds, but will play at their home courts in Queens. Action from the Billie Jeane King Tennis Center will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday.
"I'm so happy our guys have this opportunity," head coach Chad Davis said. "It will be a challenge, but we'll be ready. It's nice that we get to play on courts that we are so comfortable with."
A win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC Championship was the team's ninth win in its last 10 matches. The journey to the NCAA Tournament was far from easy as the Terriers battled early season injuries and a rigorous schedule, starting the campaign 1-10 overall.
A big part of the team's success was Jan Godfrey Seno's return to form and the doubles tandem of Assil Boussayri and Habib Stambouli. In the finals, the duo nailed down the first point of the match with a victory and Seno defeated the conference Player of the Year to put the team in prime position.
Boussayri and Stambouli finished 8-4 together over the course of the season and Seno went 10-7 at No. 1 singles.
Columbia enters with a 19-3 overall record, defeating a number of ranked opponents in 2023. The Lions went 6-1 in the Ivy League and finished with their highest ranking in program history.
After the Regional Championships, Super Regional play will begin to determine the eight teams who will earn their spot into the NCAA National Championships, which will be held at the USTA National Campus from May 17-27.
2023 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament First & Second Rounds -- Billie Jean King Tennis Center (Queens, N.Y.)
Friday, May 5
Match 1 – Stanford vs. St. John's, 10 a.m.
Match 2 – Columbia vs. St. Francis College Brooklyn, 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 6
Match 3 – Match 2 Winner vs. Match 1 Winner, Noon
