NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's tennis team avenged last season's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament loss to Babson College on Monday afternoon, as the Lyons cruised to a 7-2 victory on the Clark Tennis Courts.

A winner in 11 of its last 12 matches, Wheaton improves to 13-3 overall while finishing its league slate at 4-1, as the Lyons earned the second seed in the upcoming tournament.  Picking up an opening-round bye, Wheaton advances to Saturday's semifinal round at the United States Coast Guard Academy, where it will play either the third-seeded hosts or sixth seed Clark University.  The match begins at 10:30 a.m.  Babson fell to 5-12 and 2-3 and is the fourth seed.

The Lyons swept the Beavers in doubles play before capturing wins in four of six singles matches.  Senior James Little (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) and junior Gregory Poulin (Boxboro, MA/Home Schooled) doubled up their opponents by an 8-4 count in the second position.

Juniors Harry Altman (Riverdale, NY/The Dwight School) and Brian Krantz (Milford, CT/Joseph A. Foran) won 8-5 at third doubles, while senior Kyle Hudgins (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) and sophomore Neall Oliver (Portland, ME/Deering) knocked off seniors Alex Kamergorodsky (Millis, MA/Needham) and Brian Lafayette (Burlington, VT/Burlington), 8-6 at number one.

In singles action, Oliver, Little and Hudgins downed their first through third foes, respectively, in straight sets, while Altman surrendered just two games during his triumph at six.  For Babson, Lafayette defeated Krantz, 7-6, 4-6, 10-4 in the fifth spot, while freshman Simeon Human (Trelex, Switzerland/International School of Geneva) notched a 6-0, 6-4 win at number four.

Wheaton wraps up its regular season tomorrow afternoon at non-league opponent Tufts University at 4:00 p.m.