ROME, Ga. - For the first time in program history Saint Mary's will play for an NIT Championship on Thursday, May 9th after defeating Rider in the semifinals 4-1. In the three years of the NIT Championships the Gaels have made the most of their first appearance in the postseason event, rattling off match wins over Morgan State and Rider University. They will face top seed Chattanooga on Friday for a shot at their first piece of postseason hardware in program history. 

In back-to-back matches, Saint Mary's got off to a good start clinching the doubles point with wins from pairs Finn Dyer/Pierre Lieutaud and Bastien Maxant/Aidan Watt. Senior Aidan Watt saw action for the first time since April 19th as he sat out the remainder of the regular season due to injury and helped the Gaels clinch the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Rider duo Cooper Dillon/Axel Engstrom. 

Saint Mary's was just one dual win away from their second straight sweep as they got singles victories from Carlos Ramos Membrives, Finn Dyer and Pierre Lieutaud. Since the start of the NIT Championships, Dyer and Lieutaud have been stellar for the Gaels, combining for a 4-0 record with two doubles and two singles wins. They have improved to 7-8 in doubles play when paired together this season with back-to-back wins over Morgan State in the quarters and now Rider in the semis. 

Carlos Ramos Membrives was the team's lone All-WCC selection this year and showed some grit in his dual, overcoming a 6-1 second set defeat to win the third set 6-1 over Rider's Dhruv Tangri. Finn Dyer also won his dual in three sets, winning back-to-back sets after dropping the first to record his eighth singles match win of the season. 

Full match results can be found below:   

Men's Semifinals: Saint Mary's def. Rider, 4-1

Doubles
No. 1 Thibaud Maxant / Carlos Ramos Membrives (Saint Mary's) vs. Matteus Froberg Dahlin / Dhruv Tangri (Rider), 5-4 DNF
No. 2 Finn Dyer / Pierre Lieutaud (Saint Mary's) def. Cole Thurgur / Ibragim Turgambekov (Rider), 6-3
No. 3 Bastien Maxant / Aidan Watt (Saint Mary's) def. Cooper Dillon / Axel Engstrom (Rider), 6-3

Singles
No. 1 Carlos Ramos Membrives (Saint Mary's) def. Dhruv Tangri (Rider), 6-0,1-6,6-1
No. 2 Thibaud Maxant (Saint Mary's) vs. Matteus Froberg Dahlin (Rider), 6-7(0), 4-5
No. 3 Finn Dyer (Saint Mary's) def. Cole Thurgur (Rider), 5-7,6-3,6-2
No. 4 Pierre Lieutaud (Saint Mary's) def. Nathan Slattery (Rider), 6-2,6-1
No. 5 Bastien Maxant (Saint Mary's) vs. Axel Engstrom (Rider), 4-6,6-3,4-5
No. 6 Cooper Dillon (Rider) def. Aidan Watt (Saint Mary's), 6-4,6-0

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Mary's will face off against top seed Chattanooga for the first time in program history with the third annual NIT Championship on the line. Live results and stream links can be found at smcgaels.com. 

Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information. 

#GaelsRise