March 31, 2004

Beverly, MA - The men's tennis team fell to the University of Southern Maine, the reigning Little East conference champions, yesterday, 9-0. The Gulls were once again competitive in doubles. The 1st doubles team of Jon Matthews and Brian Goldmeier fought valiantly before succumbing, 6-8. "They battled," said Coach Herlihy. "They jumped out to an early lead, didn't panic when Southern Maine came back, and almost pulled it out. Had a few points gone our way down the stretch, we might have won that match."

The 2nd doubles team of Joseph Dudek and Kieran Parisi also took the lead early on in their match before losing, 3-8. "They played well. The fact that Joe broke a string and had to play the majority of the match with a different racket didn't help, but that happens in tennis," said Herlihy. The Gulls dropped each singles match in straight sets, but played better than they had in their season opener, according to Herlihy. "The matches featured long rallies and some good tennis," he said. "In our opener, we gave away too many points. Today, we were more consistent and made them play. I think if we play as well as we did today in future matches, we'll have more positive results."

The Gulls next match is on Thursday, April 1 at Salem State, 3:30 start.