Heinrich & Foran End Prolific Careers In NCAA Semi
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (May 28, 2016) – Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis seniors
Matthew Heinrich and
Ben Foran fell in the semifinal of the NCAA Individual Championship Saturday, 7-5, 6-3 to end a pair of historic careers.
The Stevens duo fell to Kenyon College's Sam Geier and Tristan Kaye, who entered the match ranked No. 17 nationally at doubles. The loss ends the longest run a Stevens doubles team has ever had in the NCAA Tournament.
Kenyon grabbed the 5-2 lead in the first set, but Heinrich/Foran rallied to take the next three games to knot the score at 5-5. It's as close as they would get to the lead however as the Kenyon pair won the next two games to win the first set, 7-5.
The second set was tighter initially as both squads played to a 2-2 deadlock, but Kenyon responded by taking the next three to go up 5-2. Heinrich/Foran took the next game to pull to within 3-5, however Kenyon responded with a victory in the next game to clinch the set and the match.
"We couldn't be more proud of the way Matt and Ben represented Stevens tennis over the last four years," head coach
Steve Gachko said. "To make the national doubles semifinals this week against the best players in Division III tennis is a remarkable achievement, and the leadership and impact on and off the court will be missed."
The Stevens pair of Heinrich and Foran will do down as one of the most successful doubles pairs the program has ever seen, while each individually have also cememted their names into the record books.