LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University men's and women's tennis prepare for the Northeast Conference Championship weekend in West Windsor, N.J., starting with matches on Friday, April 14. Men's tennis opens against No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson and women's tennis opens against No. 5 St. Francis Brooklyn.
Men's Tennis Quick Hits
Saint Francis drew the No. 7 seed after a 5-13 overall and 1-2 conference record this season. The Red Flash were the only team to hand top-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn a conference loss this season with its 4-3 victory on Feb. 5. Saint Francis is currently led by
Adam Kush's six dual match singles wins, followed by four each from Jodi Garcia and
Patrick Reese. Doubles is led by the pairing of Kush and
Gregory Troyan, who own a 6-7 record.
Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson
The Knights earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after a 12-7 overall and 4-1 conference record this season and is a two-time reigning champion. Its only conference loss was 4-3 to No. 1 St. Francis Brooklyn on March 26. Fairleigh Dickinson ended its regular season with four wins in a row. The team is led by Justas Trainauskas' 15-3 singles record and they have four total players with double-digit wins. Doubles is led by Trainauskas and Thomas Linley's 12 victories.
All-Time vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Fairleigh Dickinson owns a 6-3 all-time record over Saint Francis and defeated the Red Flash 7-0 this season. All-three Saint Francis victories came in a row from 2016-18 and included a 4-2 win in 2016 to advance to the NEC Championship match. The Knights defeated the Red Flash in the NEC Championships in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Men's Bracket
St. Francis Brooklyn earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament after a 6-1 record in conference matches this season. Fairleigh Dickinson drew the No. 2 seed to face No. 7 Saint Francis, while Sacred Heart earned a No. 3 seed to face No. 6 Merrimack. LIU earned the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Wagner.
Women's Tennis Quick Hits
Saint Francis earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament after a 10-10 overall and 3-1 conference record this season. It was Saint Francis' most total wins since 2014 and best conference season since 2018. The team is led by two-time NEC Player of the Week
Bente Vandeputte, who carries a 15-4 singles record in dual matches and a 9-2 record in the No. 1 spot.
Valeria Vinces leads the team with eight doubles victories and four other players are tied for second with seven.
Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn
The Terriers enter as the No. 5 seed after a 5-12 overall and 3-4 conference record this season. St. Francis Brooklyn ended its regular season with back-to-back losses to Sacred Heart and LIU. All-four of its conference losses during the regular season came against the top-four seeds in the NEC Championships.
All-Time vs. St. Francis Brooklyn
Saint Francis owns a 15-1 all-time record over St. Francis Brooklyn and included a 5-2 victory this season. The only Terriers' win was 4-3 in 2022. The programs have met twice in the NEC Championships – a 4-0 Red Flash win in 2012 and 2013.
Women's Bracket
The women's bracket is led by No. 1 seeded LIU, who owned a perfect 4-0 record in conference play this season. Sacred Heart earned a No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 seeded Wagner. Fairleigh Dickinson pulled a No. 3 seed to face No. 6 Merrimack, while Saint Francis earned the No. 4 seed and faces No. 5 seeded St. Francis Brooklyn. The 2022 champion was Bryant, who left this past summer to join the America East.
Next
The winner of men's tennis against Fairleigh Dickinson will advance to face the winner of No. 3 Sacred Heart and No. 6 Merrimack. The winner of women's tennis against St. Francis Brooklyn will advance to face No. 1 LIU. The tournament is single elimination, so the loser of these matches season will end.
