COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Endicott men's tennis team posted a 5-2 victory over St. Michael's on Saturday afternoon at the Tarrant Recreation Center.
Today's match was played in conjunction with NCAA Division I and II rules which only awards one point for winning the doubles portion of the match (best of 3, one point). This is in contrast to NCAA Division III rules which awards one point for each doubles flight won by a team.
The Gulls were able to claim the second match in doubles action thanks to the pairing of Cooper Walters (Madeira Beach, Fla.) / Justin Toler (Concord, N.H.) at the No. 1 position (6-4). However, the Purple Knights earned victories at the No. 3 (6-3) and No. 2 (6-4) flights to go up 1-0 headed into singles play.
In singles, Endicott rattled off five straight wins courtesy of Charles Book (Devon Pa.), Walters, Daniel Rinkert (Ben Lomond Calif.), Toler, and Christos Papadopoulos (Weymouth, Mass.) to clinch the match.
Book, Walters, and Rinkert all won hard-fought matches via super tiebreakers at the No. 2 (6-3, 1-6, 10-5), No. 3 (6-4, 1-6, 10-8), and No. 1 (7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 10-0) flights, respectively.
Meanwhile, Toler notched a 7-5, 6-4 triumph at the No. 4 spot and Papadopoulos registered a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 5.
TOP QUOTE
"We handled adversity well today," said Endicott men's tennis coach Anthony D'Angelo. "I am excited to keep building momentum."
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today marked the first meeting between the teams since September 17, 2011.
- Walters and Toler were the lone double winners on the day for the Blue and Green.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (4-4) will host Wentworth on Saturday, March 30 for Senior Day at 1:00 PM. St. Michael's (3-8) will travel to Northern Vermont-Johnson on Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 PM.
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(Photo credit - David Le '10)