The Roadrunner Men's Tennis will look to repeat as NJCAA Region 19 Division III champions this weekend when they compete at Mercer County Park.

Meanwhile, the improving RCSJ Women's Team will also compete in the Region tournament for the first time since November 2022. 

Opening round matches will begin Friday morning, April 26, at 10 am, with the tournament concluding Saturday afternoon.

Men's Tournament

The Runners enter the tournament as the clear favorite to win team honors following this season's impressive 10-4 dual meet record against a tough regional schedule. The Runners captured the GSAC championship last week, the 9th in 11 years for the program.

RCSJ's returning All-Region 19 performers include sophomores Kyle Deacon and Christian Rafanello, both of whom have played key roles in this season's success and both of whom hope to continue their fine play in the postseason.

"We all have improved quite a bit this season and have bonded well as a team," said Deacon, who finished as a Region 19 runnerup at No. 2 singles and was a champion at No. 1 doubles a year ago. "We have a winning attitude and that's how we'll approach the postseason meets."

Rafanello, a No. 3 doubles champion in Region 19 last season, agrees.

"We have the talent and we've had great coaches the past two years -- we are going into the Region meet and nationals with a lot of confidence," he commented.

Coach Brian Rowan, Region 19 Coach of the Year last season, knows his team is not taking their regular season success for granted. That success came against a tough group of opponents within and outside Region 19.

"This group was very good a year ago when they won the region championship -- and they've improved quite a bit since," said Rowan. "They are always working hard and not taking anything for granted. They have set some clear goals for themselves. They battled hard against a competitive schedule, so they're ready for the postseason."

Women's Tournament

Coach Mary Jewett leads the Roadrunners into the Region 19 tournament for the first time in two years when the sport was played in the Fall. Her Runners began the season winless in their first four matches but finished strong, winning three of their final five dual meets.

Top performers include singles' standouts Sydney Ivey and Melissa Blanchard.

"We played a lot of tough competition the first month of the season from Division 1 and 2 schools, and we couldn't win any of those matches," said Blanchard. "But all of that helped us. We knew our time would come."

Agreed, according to sophomore singles star Ivey.

"We're a better team now, and it's because of our schedule," said Ivey. "Hopefully we're on the right track now."

The Runners' toughest opponent in the tournament will likely be Mercer CCC, which won both regular season matches. Brookdale CC will also be in the mix.

Check back here for tournament results.

NJCAA Region 19 Division III
Men's Tennis Championships

Friday, April 26, 2024
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Mercer County Park
West Windsor, NJ

Teams:
RCSJ Gloucester
Brookdale Community College
Ocean County College
Mercer County Community College

Roadrunner Men's Roster
Justin Abrego, SO
Allan Bonilla, FR
Brayan Cardenas, FR
Kyle Deacon SO
Rich Feldman, FR
Jackson Huhn, FR
Nicolas Meehan, SO
Mike Olsen, FR
Christian Rafanello, SO

Roadrunner Women's Roster
Leigha Badie, FR
Melissa Blanchard, FR
Janelle Colon, FR
Brynn Danley, FR
Giana De Block, FR
Sydney Ivey, SO
Angel Randhawa, FR
Katelyn Steffens, SO