Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's tennis team, seeded No. 4 in the Northeast-10 Tournament, hosted the No. 5 Stonehill College Skyhawks in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday afternoon. Behind a sweep of the doubles that gave Adelphi a 3-0 lead, the Panthers defeated the visiting Skyhawks, 5-2, to advance to the semifinals. With the win, Adelphi improves to 11-6 overall while the Skyhawks drop to 12-9.

The match marked the fourth straight year Stonehill and Adelphi have met in the first round of the NE-10 Tournament, the second at Adelphi after two-straight years at Charles Watt Courts on the Stonehill campus. The Panthers posted their first postseason victory over the Skyhawks with a 5-2 decision on the road last season after Stonehill was victorious in 2011 and 2012.

The Panthers put themselves in the driver's seat by sweeping the three doubles points. The closest match came at No. 1 doubles, just as it was during the regular season meeting between the two teams on April 5. That day, Ryan Villarruel and Sebastian Zapata edged Brett Armstrong and Eric Ringstad, 8-6, and the two teams went one better in their playoff match. The set went past the regulation eight games, but Zapata and Villarruel again came out on top, 9-7. The Panthers' No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams prevailed by identical 8-5 scores.

In singles, the 2014 NE-10 Rookie of the Year Uladzislau Litvinchuk led the squad with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles to secure the Panthers another point to put them just one match win away from advancing. However, the Skyhawks would not go quietly as Nick Hyzak bested Sander Brenner in a tough three-setter and Ringstad saw off Zapata at No. 2 singles to put the visitors on the board.

In the regular season meeting between the two teams, Villarruel was forced to retire at No. 2 singles against Ringstad when trailng 0-6, 0-3 due to a back injury. However, he proved to be the difference-maker for Adelphi in the match as he instead took on Philip Klados at No. 3 singles. After taking the opening set in a tiebreaker, which also went past the regulation seven points, Villarruel put the Panthers one set away from the semifinals. Klados would rally to take a hard-fought second set, 6-4, but it was Villarruel who had all the answers for Adelphi in the third. He secured a bagel set against his Stonehill opponent to take the match 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-0 to secure the win and put Adelphi into the semifinals. Chiwete Njokanma was also one game away from victory after dropping the first set at No. 4 singles before play was called.

Singles
1. Nick Hyzak d. Sander Brenner 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
2. Eric Ringstad d. Sebastian Zapata 6-1, 6-2
3. Ryan Villarruel d. Philip Klados 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-0
4. Chiwete Njokanma lead Tom Alaimo 3-6, 6-3, 5-3 (unfinished)
5. Uladzislau Litvinchuk d. Brett Armstrong 6-1, 6-1
6. Justin Vijungco lead Jared Drzal 1-0 (unfinished)

Doubles
1. Zapata/Villarruel (ADE) d. Armstrong/Ringstad (STO) 9-7
2. Brenner/Litvinchuk (ADE) d. Alaimo/Sanders (STO) 8-5
3. Njoknma/Vijungco (ADE) d. Hyzak/Drzal (STO) 8-5

Up Next
With the win, Adelphi advances to the semifinals of the NE-10 Tournament. The squad will travel to No. 1 Merrimack on Thursday, April 24 for a 2 pm match. In the regular season, Merrimack bested Adelphi by a 6-3 score in a home match for the Panthers on March 30. The Panthers and Warriors also faced off in the semifinals of last year's NE-10 Tournament in North Andover, Mass. and it was the host Warriors who came out the winners, 5-2.