MCCC's Davis Wins Region 19 Championship at First Singles; Doubles Pair Headed to Nationals

MCCC's Davis Wins Region 19 Championship at First Singles; Doubles Pair Headed to Nationals

5/7/15

West Windsor, N.J. – The Mercer County Community College (MCCC) men's tennis team may have been small in numbers, but that never stopped the four members of the team from making the most of their season. In the Region 19 Championship held May 1-3 at Mercer County Park, all four players advanced to the semifinals and one player emerged as a star at the highly competitive no. 1 singles spot. Freshman Brandon Davis (Woodbridge, NJ/John F. Kennedy Memorial High School) won the no. 1 singles title with a 6-1, 7-6 (1) win over Brookdale.

Davis will travel with his no. 1 doubles partner, Tyler Sincoskie, to the NJCAA Division III National Championship in Plano, Tex. May 9-15. They will be accompanied by Head Coach Marc Vecchiolla and Assistant Coach Ralph Bencivengo.

Davis was 10-3 in his Region 19 regular season matches, with two of his losses coming at the hands of opponents he faced at the championship. Davis lost 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 to Rowan’s Matt Perrone in their last regular season match, but defeated him 6-2, 7-5 in the tournament semifinals. Davis lost 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 during the regular season to Brookdale’s Connor Prasad, but dug deep to battle to a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win over Prasad to capture the first singles title.

Freshman Brandon Davis, second from right, is the Region 19 champ at no. 1 singles. He and doubles partner Tyler Sincoskie will compete at the NJCAA Championship in Plano, Tex., May 9-15. They are pictured with Head Coach Marc Vecchiolla, left, and Assistant Coach Ralph Bencivengo.

The Vikings had a great opening day at the region tournament, with all four singles players advancing to the semifinals in their flights: Davis at first singles, sophomore Tyler Sincoskie (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) at second singles, sophomore Angelo Codilla (Trenton, NJ/Ewing) at third singles, and freshman Erik Wiener (Trenton, NJ/Hamilton West) at fourth singles. The second doubles team of Codilla and Wiener also got a win on Friday, giving the Vikings a first day total of five points and the lead in the three-day tournament.

Day two was a different story, with the Vikings managing only one additional point -- Davis' win at first singles. Mercer’s top doubles team of Davis and Sincoskie lost a tough three-set match (6-3, 5-7, 6-0) to Brookdale in the semifinals, following a bye in the first round.

Going into day three, Davis remained the lone Viking still in play and his victory at first singles was the only flight that Rowan College at Gloucester did not win en route to their Region 19 team title. Rowan finished first with 23 points, Ocean was second with 11 points, and Brookdale earned the last team spot for the national championship with nine points. Mercer finished fourth with seven points.

While Head Coach Marc Vecchiolla is disappointed he can’t bring all four of his players to nationals, he is excited about the opportunity for Davis and Sincoskie to experience at national championship.

"We will go out there to win, but whatever the outcome, I know it will be a great experience for both of these terrific players," Vecchiolla said.

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