Posted: May 06, 2018
The NJCAA Region XIX Men's Tennis Team Championship has returned home to RCGC! The Roadrunners captured their first region crown this weekend at Mercer County Park since 2015, and players and coaches alike pointed to a strong focus on bonding as a team as a key reason for their success.
RCGC, which has captured eight regional titles and four Division III crowns in its proud history in men's tennis, dominated the final team standings with 23 total points. They were followed by Mercer County (15 points), Brookdale (13), Bucks (3), Ocean (3) and Williamson Trade (2).
And this successful weekend was a long-time coming, according to first singles individual champion Sebastian Gonzalez, who won his second straight Region XIX title in singles competition.
"Winning the team title was pretty much our one and only goal," said Gonzalez. "That's what this weekend was all about. We were focused on winning as a team."
But in order to accomplish this goal, the Roadrunners had to fare well in their individual matches – and this proved to be mission accomplished! The Runners emerged with four singles champions -- Gonzalez at first singles, Mike Colville at second singles, Paulo Claure at fourth, and Zach Carr at fifth.
They also collected all three doubles titles, Gonzalez and Colville won first doubles, Claure and Jacob Harrison claimed the title at second doubles, and Carr and John Ciliberto rallied as victors at third doubles.
"Everyone contributed, and we could not be prouder of this group of young men," coach Brian Rowan said. "There were some challenging moments, but everyone was focused and everyone played a role in winning this title."
Sophomore Jacob Harrison may have overcome the meet's toughest challenge, and he did soin style. After losing in the No. 3 singles semifinals on Friday in a marathon match, the Glassboro native teamed with Claure to win the second doubles championship by a 6-3, 6-0 score.
"I was disappointed to lose at third singles, but it was great to bounce back with Paulo (Claure) and shake off the nerves to win the doubles match," he said.
Claure, a former Delran High standout, came up huge this weekend with wins at fourth singles and No. 2 doubles.
"I definitely had a lot of nerves, but I just kept battling," he said. "This team championship means a lot to all of us. It belongs at RCGC, and we're glad to bring it back home."
The team triumph qualified RCGC for next weekend's NJCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in Peachtree, GA. Gonzalez finished as national runnerup at No. 1 singles last spring while Colville earned a national title at No. 6 singles in 2017.
"We're excited to have the chance to return to nationals," said Rowan. "We hope this trip will be a very productive one for the team."
Day 2 Results on May 5, 2018
After Day 2 of competition, the RCGC Mens Tennis squad leads the NJCAA Region XIX team standings with 16 points following a dominating performance at Mercer County Park on Saturday morning.
The Roadrunners, coached by Brian Rowan, claimed wins in 5 of 6 singles semifinals matches while sweeping the doubles semifinals.
Winners in singles matches included sophomores Sebastian Gonzalez (by default) and Mike Colville, along with freshman Zach Carr. In doubles competition, Gonzalez and Colville earned a win at 1st Doubles to highlight the action.
The Runners' 16 points are ahead of second place Brookdale and Mercer, which have 13 points each. The Region finals continue at 10 am Sunday.
"Everyone played well today and we're confident we can win the Region XIX team championship," said Gonzalez, a national runnerup at first singles last season. "We're looking forward to playing well on Sunday and winning the title."
Tournament Preview
Best of luck to the Roadrunner Men's Tennis Team as they begin their quest for a Region XIX Division III championship this weekend at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, NJ.
The Roadrunners finished the regular season with a 10-3 overall record and 8-0 mark in Region XIX competitiion.
Seedings for the tournament took place on Thursday, and each member of RCGC's squad earned byes for matches to be held on Friday. Matches will be held Friday and Saturday at Mercer County Park. RCGC has compiled a total of four NJCAA Division III National Championships and seven Region XIX titles in its proud history.
The Roadrunners are led by No. 1 singles Sebastian Gonzalez and sophomore singles standouts Mike Colvile and Jacob Harrison, along with freshman standout Zach Carr.
"I think having sophomores at the top of the lineup will help us win within the region -- it's helped us win region championships in the past," said Coach Brian Rowan. "Our guys are hungry to win, which is part of the equation as well.
"But the most important piece here is that the sophomores want to have a region championship on their resumes, so to speak."
Follow all of the results here this weekened and watch for a special feature on Roadrunners' men's tennis!
DIVISION III
DIVISION III MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
May 4-6, 2018 - Championship at Mercer County Community College (Trenton, NJ)
Friday, May 4
First-Round Matches
Saturday, May 5 at 10 am
Semifinal Matches
Sunday, May 6, at 10 am
Finals Matches