April 24, 2009
NEWPORT, R.I. - The No. 2 seed Salve Regina University men's tennis team advanced to The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Championship for the ninth-consecutive season with a 5-0 win over No. 3 seed Endicott College Friday afternoon in the semifinals at the Leroy Avenue Courts. Endicott wraps up its season at 11-6 this season while Salve Regina improves to 10-9 in 2009 and will face Roger Williams University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for the TCCC Championship.
After sweeping all three doubles matches, the Seahawks earned points at No. 6 singles and No. 3 singles to seal the win. Leading the match 4-0, sophomore Charlie Normington (Acton, Mass.) closed out a 6-2, 6-4 win over sophomore Devon Locke (St. Croix, Virgin Islands) to win the match.
Freshman Zach Rosenfeld (Easton, Conn.) picked up the other singles point for Salve Regina, knocking off senior Gabriel Moraga (Marlborough, Conn.) in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Senior Andrew Martin (Glastonbury, Conn.) and sophomore Trey Van Buskirk (La Jolla, Calif.) picked up the first point of the afternoon for the Seahawks, defeating seniors Josh Schoen (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Scott Teller (Granville, N.Y.) at No. 1 doubles, 8-2.
Junior Steve Masso (North Scituate, R.I.) and senior Collin Cunningham (Wethersfield, Conn.) followed with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles over junior Dan Murray (Coventry, R.I.) and senior Marc Maloney (Feeding Hills, Mass.). Normington and Rosenfeld teamed up at No. 2 doubles to knock off Locke and sophomore Mike D'Ambra (Barrington, R.I.), 8-5, to earn the third doubles point of the afternoon.
Martin, Masso, and Cunningham were each leading their singles matches one set to none at No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 singles for Salve Regina before their matches were stopped following Normington's clinching win. For Endicott, Murray won the first set at No. 2 singles over sophomore Trey Van Buskirk (La Jolla, Calif.), 7-5, but trailed 5-2 in the second.
Endicott ends its season in the TCCC Semifinals for the third straight season while falling one win shy of a program-record 12 wins last season. First year head coach Eric Calderwood guided the Gulls to their best conference record in program history at 7-2 while keeping the team above .500 for the second consecutive season at 11-6. Salve Regina will travel to Roger Williams tomorrow for the championship match at 1:00 p.m.
