Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics
Fordham University
Late-Night Battle Slips Away as Fordham Edges Pios, 4–3
1/31/2026 1:22:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Pioneers Take Doubles Point but Fall in Tight Singles Finish at Home Opener
TRUMBULL, CONN - The Sacred Heart University men's tennis home opener turned into a late-night thriller, as the Pioneers claimed the doubles point but Fordham won four of six singles matches to narrowly defeat SHU, 4–3, at the Tennis Club of Trumbull.
Sacred Heart's top two doubles teams set the tone early, giving the Pioneers a 1–0 lead. At No. 2 doubles, senior captain Paul Goncalves and sophomore Connor Liona cruised past Fordham's Filip Horak and Dhanajay Athreya, 6–1. After the Rams earned a 6–0 win at third doubles, seniors Frederick McRae and first-year Tomasz Garbacz clinched the doubles point for SHU with a hard-fought tiebreaker win at No. 1 doubles, 7–6 (7–3).
In singles play, the Pioneers picked up straight-set victories at No. 2 singles from McRae and at No. 4 singles from first-year Darren Huang, pushing SHU ahead 3–2 with two matches remaining. At No. 6 singles, Fordham's Timotej Stofa rallied after dropping the first set to outlast Liona, 1–6, 6–4, 6–4, evening the match at 3–3.
The deciding match came at No. 5 singles, where Goncalves battled back after losing the first set to force a third. However, Athreya pulled away in the final set, securing a 6–1, 3–6, 6–1 victory to clinch the match for the Rams.
The Pioneers return to action next Friday night on the road at Wagner. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
