Flushing, N.Y. - A pair of teammates in Marko Jovanovic and Viktor Hockl nearly went head-to-head in the final, until the paths for the reigning NE10 Player and Rookie of the Year were stopped in the semifinals of the 2023 ITA Division II East Region Men's Singles Championship this weekend at the USTA National Tennis Center.

Both seeded in the field, Jovanovic and Hockl each had to surpass the highest seed in their respective halves of the draw.

As the No. 8 seed, Jovanovic drew top-ranked and reigning singles champion Jonathan Berling in the quarterfinals.

In a showdown of the last two NE10 Players of the Year, Jovanovic -- despite losing the first set -- still took down Berling, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.

One round earlier, Hockl went the distance against Cameron Henricy Trigolos of Queens, only to knock off the No. 2 seeded player by a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 scoreline.

Jovanovic and Hockl both led in their semifinals, until play was suspended due to rain. Upon moving the tournament indoors, Jovanovic lost a third-set tiebreak, and Hockl came up short in a second-set tiebreak of his own.

The Panthers also sent a pair of teammates to the semifinals in the doubles competition.

Hugo Munoz Reinoso and Reece Farrow -- as an unseeded pairing -- knocked off top-ranked Mauricio Corty Sosa and Louis Mangeon of UDC in convincing fashion (8-4) in the Round of 16.

In the semifinals, Reinoso and Farrow put their opposition on the ropes after winning the second set, but came up short in their finals bid, dropping a decisive third-set tiebreak to Berling and Melvin Vix of SNHU.

Head Coach Rebecca Fakas and her Adelphi squad will meet many of these same players again on Friday (Sept. 22), when they resume NE10 play at Southern New Hampshire University at 1:30 p.m.