The Bearcats experienced another athletic victory when the men’s volleyball team took home their fourth consecutive CUNYAC Championship after defeating Hunter College, 3-1, on April 12. Baruch College won three of the four sets in a close 27-25, 26-24, 26-28, 25-18 matchup against the Hawks. The win extends the Bearcats’ winning streak to 18 for the season and marks the 21st consecutive win in the CUNYAC, dating back to last season. Despite 43 ties and 20 lead changes, the Bearcats played a determined game, ultimately leading them to defeat their Lexington rival.
The entire team came together to give it their all, with Ryan Oommen notably busy on the court with 46 assists. Oommen gave 46 of the 48 assists in this match, bringing him to a total of 692 assists this season, a substantial increase from the 491 in the prior season. Oommen also had 11 digs over the course of the four sets, followed by Naoki Tani and Jackson Newcomb, who had eight and six, respectively.
Baruch placed 53 kills during the game, with almost half coming from Peter Gavroff. With 24 kills, Gavroff set a career high during the championship game and was consequently named the CUNYAC Tournament MVP. Teammate Jack Centeno also contributed 14 kills and two aces.
On Baruch’s defense, Ari Osmanaj and Haoxin Hu contributed with three blocks each, followed by Argjend Osmanaj who blocked two.
With this victory, the Bearcats will now continue to their first NCAA round against New York University at Washington and Lee University on April 19.
The Bearcats experienced another CUNYAC victory when the men’s tennis team defeated Lehman College with a landslide 9-0 victory.
Duo Juan Paredes and Nicholas Santiago won with an impressive score of 8-0 in their round. Standing out in the singles were George Arteaga and Gonzalo Abad, who had two clean 6-0, 6-0 sweeps in their rounds. The Bearcats won all three doubles and six singles, improving their score to 7-3 and 3-0 in the CUNYAC.
The team then continued to defeat the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 7-2 on April 14, further advancing their season record to 8-3. Once again, the Bearcats won all three doubles and also four of the six singles.
The Bearcats played strong in the singles, with Abad, Santiago, Tuna Nergizoglu and Reda Ljazouli securing victories that contributed to the team’s overall success. Ljazouli won his round with a perfect eight-point lead over his opponent, 8-0.