CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 15 ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's tennis team is set to face No. 16 ranked Lander University in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional on Monday, May 9 at 1:00 p.m. The winner of the afternoon affair will advance to face the winner between Columbus State and Belmont Abbey in the Southeast Regional Finals on Tuesday, May 10 at 1:00 p.m. All matches are being played at the John W. Walden Tennis Center in Columbus, Ga. on the campus of Columbus State University.
The fifth seeded Royals will embark on their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and the first since 2019. Queens enters the tournament on a program-long 11 game winning streak. The Royals have not dropped a match since a tough 4-3 loss to No. 38 Anderson on March 19. The Royals are coming off their third SAC Regular Season title and third SAC Tournament title.
The meeting between the Royals and the Bearcats will mark the first this season after inclement weather forced the teams to postpone earlier scheduled matches. The two regional opponents have only faced off once in program history and that was on Feb. 22, 2020 just before the season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Royals took down the No. 6 ranked Bearcats 4-3 in Greenwood, S.C.
The Royals men have been led all season by the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year,
Edoardo Bottino. The Genoa, Italy native is ranked No. 21 in singles play winning the last eight matches and holding an 11-5 dual record from the top flight.
Bottino, and fellow Italian teammate
Edoardo Cecere are ranked No. 50 in doubles play together. The duo is 7-2 in dual matches this season from No. 1 court, including a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play.
Laurenz Blickwede,
Edoardo Cecere,
Berk Enc,
Yoan Roussinov, and
Win Steveker have all played critical roles in the Royals success this season winning a combined 70-percent of their matches.
Lander enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed holding a 15-5 overall record, and 3-3 mark in Peach Belt Conference play. The Bearcats opened the season on fire winning their first nine matches, but have have struggled down the line going 2-3 in their last five matches. Lander is led in singles play by No. 67 ranked Hugo Regner who is 16-4 overall. In doubles play, the tandem of Matthew De Groot/Markus Sorensen are ranked No. 49 by the ITA with a 9-2 overall record.
Fans can check out the tournament
homepage to see the schedule and live stats links for all of the matches. The winner from the Southeast Regional will advance to the 2022 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships in Altamonte Springs, Fla. from May 18-22.
Be sure to support the Royals as they head into championship season by following Queens Tennis on Instagram @queenstennis to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates.
