box score

The Wilkes University men's tennis team will be making its third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Manhattanville in the finals of the Freedom Conference Team Championship. Despite losing two-of-three doubles matches, the Colonels came back to win 5-3.

At No. 1 doubles, the tandem of Chris Cozzillio (Harrisburg/Trinity) and Jeremy Nolt (Bloomsburg/Central Columbia) went back and forth with Manhattanville's Julian Oribe and Michael Capozzi. Neither team was able to get a substantial lead, but after Wilkes broke a 3-3 tie, Cozzillio and Nolt never looked back as they won the match 8-5.

Clarke Freeman (York, PA/Central York) and Cesar Leon (Woodhaven, NY/Brooklyn Tech), playing at the No. 2 spot had a similar match with Lance Dorfi and Dean Tahir as the match went back and forth with both teams exchanging games. Freeman and Leon tied the match at three, but Dorfi and Tahir would jump out to a 7-4 and would eventually win the contest 8-6 to tie the team match at one point each. At No. 3 doubles, Karim Mahmoud and Andrew Rivera jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Evan Katz (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) and Wes McCollum (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) before eventually taking an 8-6 win to go up 2-1 going into singles play.

McCollum wasted little time in singles as he made quick work of Tahir at the No. 4 spot winning 6-0, 6-0 to tie the match at two points apiece. The score would remain tied at two until Nolt gave the Colonels the lead at the No. 3 position. He cruised to a 6-2 win over Dorfi in the first set, but had to battle in the second as they exchanged games through the first half of the second set. Dorfi tied the second set at three games each and again at four, before Nolt won the final two games of the set to win 6-4.

The Valiants would not go quietly as Capozzi tied the match at three games each with his 6-2, 6-4 win over Cozzillio at the No. 2 position. It was the only singles match Manhattanville would win on the day. At the No. 5 spot, Katz gave Wilkes the lead for good after beating Rivera in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Leon, who was named the Freedom Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, would eventually clinch the match as he bested Oribe 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 1 position. After winning the first set without a real threat, Oribe was down 4-1 in the second before he stormed back to tie the second set at five games each. Leon would not lose another game as he won the second set and clinched the match for the Colonels.

Wilkes will find out who their opponent will be in the upcoming NCAA Championships on Monday night.