NORTON, Mass. -- Senior Ian Tracy (San Jose, Costa Rica) and junior Ethan Na (Weatogue, Conn.) were both double winners to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's tennis team to a 5-4 victory over visiting Endicott College this afternoon at Beard Field House. The Lyons improve to 1-3 on the season and capture the first victory at Wheaton for Head Coach Dan Munsey. The Gulls drop to 1-3.
Tracy combined with senior Albert Ortega Campos (Malaga, Spain) for an 8-4 victory at first doubles over junior Brennan Nick (Tolland, Conn.) and senior Collin Dinardo (Westport, Mass.) to give Wheaton a 1-0 edge. Endicott answered with an 8-6 win at number two doubles behind first year Oliver Pope (Dartmouth, Mass.) and graduate student Daniel Rinkert (Ben Lomond, Calif.). The win knotted the dual match at 1-1 after downing the home team's duo of junior Jack Luyrink (Paxton, Mass.) and first year Karl von Weissenbeck (Winchester, Mass.).
Number three doubles could very well have decided the match. Na and Lyons' sophomore Elijah Hanlon (Branford, Conn.) trailed the visiting pairing of sophomore Julian Richtarich (Naples, Fla.) and first year Hudson De Risi (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 4-1 in the match. Na and Hanlon regrouped in the pro-set format contest and later faced a 7-6 deficit, before the duo won the next two games, including the deciding frame in a 7-4 tie-breaker to take a 2-1 edge in the match.
First year Janith Madhok (New Delhi, India) had no trouble defeating Ortega Campos at number two singles, 6-1, 6-1, to pull the visitors even at 2-2, but Wheaton won the next three singles matches to secure the victory.
Na did not drop a game for the Lyons in the opening set of third singles and followed the effort with a 6-4 second set decision for a 6-0, 6-4 showing against Rinkert at third singles. Tracy followed that by breezing through the opening set, 6-3, at number one against Nick, but had to come back from being down in the second frame to pull out a 7-5 win to capture the match and put Wheaton on the brink of its first dual match triumph of the season.
von Weissenbeck earned a sound 6-3, 6-4 win at fourth singles over Pope to give the Lyons a 5-2 lead and the win.
Fifth and sixth singles were both hard fought as the Gulls climbed to within 5-4. Richtarich won the tie-break 7-4 to win the first set, 7-6, over Luyrink at fifth singles, before winning the second frame, 7-5 to take the match. First year George Danes Old Lyme, Conn. also endured a grind of a match, winning the opening set over Wheaton first year Daniel Bor, 7-5, before the Lyons' rookie evened the match after a 7-6 (3) effort in the second frame. Danes finally put the match away at the six spot with a 10-5 third set win.
Wheaton returns to the court on March 15 when it takes on Hope International University at 12:00 p.m. PT/3:00 PM ET at the Fullerton Tennis Center in Fullerton, Calif., while Endicott heads to Lewiston, Maine to play Bates College on March 6 at 12:00 p.m.
