Men’s Tennis Cruises at Nichols, 8-1

POMFRET, Conn. (March 9, 2019) – After a month between matches at the start of the spring season, the Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team returned to action on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Ravens met Nichols at The Pomfret School for a non-conference match and dealt the host Bison an 8-1 defeat.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 5-1, while Nichols falls to 1-3.

The Ravens took all three doubles matches to quickly open up a 3-0 lead. First and second doubles each posted 8-4 wins, as sophomores Roberto Chong (Puigpunyent, Spain) and Nkrumah Patrick (Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago) took care of Nichols juniors Guilherme Barbosa and Brandon Howard at first doubles, while junior Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel) and freshman Preston Gordon (Essex Junction, Vt.) defeated seniors Blake Norton and Sebastian Penaloza at second doubles. Meanwhile, at third doubles, it was an 8-5 win over seniors James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) over junior Peter Coletti and senior Igor Markowski.

Franklin Pierce then added wins in five of the six singles matches as well, to ring up the 8-1 final. The most competitive match of the day came at third singles, where Gordon swept the first set from Howard, 6-0, before Howard took the second set, 6-4. The team match was already decided by the time the second set finished, so they played a 10-point tiebreak in place of a third set, with Gordon posting a 10-8 victory.

The Ravens were also victorious at first and second singles, taking both in straight sets. At first singles, Chong knocked off Barbosa, 6-4, 6-3. At second singles, Bisazza notched a 6-4, 7-5 win over Norton.

The only point of the day for Nichols came at fourth singles, courtesy of a 6-3, 6-2 win for Penaloza over Patrick.

It was two more straight-set wins for Franklin Pierce at fifth and sixth singles. At fifth singles, Barak cruised past junior Jack Donaldson, 6-2, 6-1. At sixth singles, Schadt notched a 6-4, 6-4 win over Coletti.

The Ravens return to the court on Sunday, March 10, when they travel to Colby for a non-conference match at 4 p.m. in Waterville, Maine. 

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).