The Mitchell College men’s tennis team bested Regis College 8-1 on Tuesday at the season's home opener. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College:
Mitchell (2-0 overall, 2-0 NECC) swept through the doubles competition to take a commanding 3-0 lead into singles play. The Mariners then sealed the victory by winning at the top five singles spots to hand Regis (5-6 overall, 2-1 NECC) its first conference loss of the season.
Mitchell put the match away early in the singles portion, with senior Tyler Engleberg (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) downing Andy White (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman) by 6-1, 6-3 finals at the No. 3 spot. Junior Rocco Devona (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) then defeated Jeff Parrish (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) by scores of 6-2, 6-1 to give the Mariners their fifth and match-deciding point.
The battle between freshmen Rajan Bawa (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) and Michael Beluch (Lynn, Mass./St. John’s Prep) at No. 1 singles was the match-up of the day. Beluch took the first set 6-4 and was up 2-1 in the second set before Bawa battled back. He fought to take the second set 7-6 in a 9-7 tiebreaker, setting the stage for a climactic finish. In lieu of a third set, the duo played a 10-point tiebreaker, with Bawa coming out on top by a 10-4 margin.
Regis picked up its lone win at No. 6 singles where Mouhamed Diallo (Boston, Mass./Cours Sainte Marie de Hann) defeated Randy Coons (Yonkers, N.Y./Brewster) in a match that also went to a 10-point tiebreaker. Diallo took the first set 6-0 before falling 1-6 in the second, but rebounded to win the tiebreaker by a 10-6 count.
Mitchell will next host Lesley University on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Regis returns to action at home against Wheelock College on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
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