NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's tennis team was defeated by Division I Stonehill College, 8-1, this afternoon at the Clark Tennis Courts on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 2-2 on the season, while the Skyhawks improve to 3-1.
Stonehill swept doubles play and won five of six singles to earn the victory. The Skyhawks boasted four double-winners on the day, but had to work for their wins in singles play with three of the six matches going to three sets.
Wheaton's only point of the match came at number six singles behind first year Calvin Van Dyke (Albuquerque, N.M.). The rookie netter dropped the opening frame to sophomore Charles Helm (Rockford, Ill.), but bounced back to take the final two sets, 6-1, 6-2 to even his season singles record at 2-2.
First year Jacob Borch-Nielsen teamed with sophomore Mark Kröll (Hollabrunn, Austria) in a battle at number one doubles. The pair came back from being down 6-5 to knot the match at 7-7 vs. Wheaton's first year duo of Jaime Galligo (Madrid, Spain) and Jake Murray (San Diego, Calif.). The Skyhawks' pair won the tie-breaker, 7-3, to win the top doubles spot and give the visitors a 3-0 lead heading into singles play.
Sophomore Mateo Mallen (Les Pennes-Mirabeau, France) combined with Stonehill first year Alexis Chastang (Faversham, England) to earn an 8-3 decision at number two doubles over Lyon junior Daniel Bor (Seattle, Wash.) and Van Dyke. The Skyhawks took third doubles by a count of 8-2 behind senior Louis Coppi (Paris, France) and sophomore Donovan Rodrigues (Ellington, Conn.) over the Wheaton combination of senior Eli Hanlon (Branford, Conn.) and first year Jack Thain (The Woodlands, Texas).
Borch-Nielsen used the high of Stonehill's comeback doubles triumph to propel him to a 6-4, 6-1 straight set win at first singles over Galligo, before sophomore Mathias Langaard (Oslo, Norway) gave the Skyhawks the win with a victory at fifth singles over Hanlon, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Stonehill tacked on three more singles wins to take an 8-0 margin. Mallen cruised in the opening set at second singles, 6-0, before Lyon first year Paul Berteaux (Courbevoie, France) roared back against his countryman with a 6-2 effort in the middle set. Mallen matched Berteaux in the third set to take the match with a 6-2 result. Rodrigues shook off a 6-4 opening set defeat to Bor at fourth singles, before winning the next two frames, 6-1, 6-1, while Chastang battled to a 6-3, 7-5 victory at third singles over Murray to give the visitors their eighth point.
The Lyons return to action in February when they begin their traditional spring season at 4:00 p.m. on the 24th vs. Endicott College, while the Skyhawks return to the court in two days time at the three-day Intercollegiate Tennis Association Super Regional Tournament at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. on October 6.
