SELINSGROVE, PA (April 28, 2022) -- The Susquehanna University men's tennis team clinched a spot in the Landmark Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon, topping visiting University of Scranton 7-2 in play from Garrett Courts.

The River Hawks (10-3, 5-1 Landmark) started out quick, winning a pair of doubles matches to take a 2-0 lead. Senior Ethan Cooley and sophomore Tim Basta cruised at No. 3 doubles with a 8-4 score to give SU a 1-0 lead. Juniors Joshua Sanderson and John Duncan also posted an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles. 

Scranton won No. 1 doubles to pull to within one at 2-1 heading into singles play. The Royals evened the match at two wins apiece after James Harrington topped Emil Vyskocil at No. 1 singles. Susquehanna battled back to take a 3-2 lead in the match, as Alex Baker rolled at No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win. 

Needing two more wins to secure the win and tournament spot, Duncan picked up a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles to make it 4-2. Less than a minute later, Basta would clinch the victory for the River Hawks, as he posted the 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4 over John Sinclair. 

The last two matches of the day would be marathons, as both needed super tiebreakers. Sanderson picked up his second win of the day and moved to 5-1 in Landmark Conference play with a 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8) win over Patrick O'Mara at No. 2 singles. Sanderson is now 12-2 on the season overall as well. 

The final win for Susquehanna came at No. 3 singles, as Henrik Sandstede fell behind 6-4 in the match but rallied for a 6-4 win in the second set to force the super tiebreaker. In the super tiebreaker, Sandstede controlled play as he earned 10 of the 11 points to finish off the 7-2 win for the River Hawks. Sandstede picked up his fifth win at No. 3 this season, the most on the team. 

With the victory, Susquehanna clinched at least the No. 3 seed in the Landmark Conference Tournament, holding tiebreakers over Moravian University and Scranton. 

Up Next

• The River Hawks will host Goucher College Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Landmark Conference and regular season finale for both teams. These two teams will meet in the Landmark Conference semifinals next week, but the winner of Saturday's match will earn hosting duties. 

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