WORCESTER, Mass. -- Junior Jaime Gálligo (Madrid, Spain) pushed until the very end, but a 6-3 straight-set loss to Clark University number one Edward Shepherd (Takoma Park, Md.) put the Cougars over the Lyons for a 4-3 win in Wednesday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference match in Worcester. 

Wheaton fell to 6-6 overall and 0-4 in the conference following the loss. Clark improved to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the NEWMAC after the win.

The Cougars swept the Lyons in the doubles, but Wheaton did anything but make things easy for their hosts. Galligo and his first year partner Landon Wyshner (Winston Salem, N.C.) were tripped up in the first doubles match as they fell 6-3 to Shepherd and his partner senior Graham Russo (Bridgewater, Mass.).

Junior Paul Berteaux (Paris, France) and sophomore Pablo Munoz (Paris, France) also fell in the second doubles match. The Parisian pairing fell 6-1 to the Cougars' combo of junior Aris Kirkorian (Sunnyside, N.Y.) and sophomore Ziad Tabbara (Manacor, Spain) to give Clark the doubles point.

The final doubles match went the full distance as Wheaton juniors Calvin Van Dyke (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Jake Murray (San Diego, Calif.) took on first year Ved Rao (Worcester, Mass.) and Benjamin Liu (Rians, France). The Lyons were pushed to the very edge as Clark took a 6-5 lead, but a clutch performance saw the tandem force the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker saw very little separation between the two pairs, but the Cougars came out on top with a 9-7 win to complete the doubles sweep.

Berteaux was up first in the singles as he took on Kirkorian in the number four position. The Lyons junior fell in the first set, 6-3, before Kirkorian clinched the second point for Clark with a 6-2 win in the second set. 

Munoz and Tabbara tangled in the number two singles match, with the Cougar cruising to a 6-2 first-set victory. Munoz pushed back in the second set, forcing Tabbara to take an extra point to win 7-5 for the third Clark point in the match.

Wheaton managed to win their first point of the match thanks to Van Dyke's performance in the number five singles match. Van Dyke dismantled Liu in straight-sets, downing his opponent 6-3, 6-4 to put the Lyons on the board. 

Wyshner followed up his teammate's effort with a win of his own in the number three singles match. The first year beat Russo in the first set, 6-2, but the Cougar climbed back for a 7-5 win in the second set. The winner-take-all third set saw Wyshner jump ahead early and never look back as he took the match with a 10-6 win in the tiebreaker.

Murray won for Wheaton in the number six singles match, tying up the score at 3-3. The Lyons' junior fell in the first set, but made up for the misstep with back-to-back wins at 6-3 and 7-5. The game was tied up, and all eyes shifted to the number one singles match.

Gálligo found himself on the back foot early in the top singles match as he fell in the first set 6-3. Shepherd stayed in rhythm to claim a straight-set victory as he repeated his result with a 6-3 win in the second set. The point went to the Cougars, and the hosts won the match 4-3.

Wheaton will return to Norton for their Morgan's Message match on Friday at 3:30 pm as they host Salve Regina University. Clark will take on Babson in Babson Park, Mass. on Friday at noon.