Stevens Heinrich and Rosensteel Selected to Play at NCAA Individual Championship
Mark Becker
Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis freshman
Matthew Heinrich (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and senior
Chris Rosensteel (East Windsor, N.J.) have earned a berth in the NCAA Men's Tennis Individual Championship as a doubles team, becoming the first Ducks in the program's history to make the tournament.
Individual singles and doubles selections
Heinrich and Rosensteel made it into the Championship, to be held Thursday, May 23 through Saturday, May 25 in Kalamazoo, Mich. following the team tournament, by virtue of being ranked in the top four duos in the Northeast region. The top 32 singles players (eight from each region) and 16 doubles pairings (four from each region) make up the Championship field. The Ducks' pairing ranked as high as No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings (which are not considered in NCAA selection) this season and finished the regular season at No. 4 with an 18-3 record, including wins over mutliple top-30 teams. Teams are selected by a combination of factors including record, strength of schedule and availability. Heinrich and Rosensteel will have the chance to become All-America selections, needing only a first-round victory to earn the honor.
The Ducks will compete in the Amherst sub-regional of the
NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship beginning tomorrow, Thursday, May 9 and running through Saturday, May 11. Stevens is the de facto No. 3 seed as one of four unranked teams in the Amherst sub-regional, having posted a 15-7 overall record, with all seven losses coming to national top-27 opponents. The Ducks earned the program's first-ever win over a ranked opponent this season in defeating previously unbeaten NCAA participant No. 30 The College of New Jersey and locked up an unprecedented fourth consecutive Empire 8 Athletic Conference title this past weekend, topping Ithaca College,
5-2, to secure the conference's automatic NCAA bid.
Head Coach
Steve Gachko will lead Heinrich, Rosensteel and the rest of the Ducks will face Baruch College (12-4) tomorrow, Thursday, May 9 in the First Round of the NCAA Championship at the indoor courts at the Magic Lincer Tennis Academy in Windsor, Conn. due to inclement weather. Opening serve is set for 11 a.m. but could be moved back to approximately 2 p.m. due to inclement weather.