DUDLEY, Mass. (May 2) – The top-seeded Nichols College men's tennis team rolled past fourth-seeded Endicott, 6-0, and into its second consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Wednesday afternoon at the Francis W. Robinson Courts. Nichols runs its program record win streak to 15 matches and improves to 16-3. The Gulls see their season complete at 11-12.

The Bison will host second seed Roger Williams in the CCC Championship Saturday, May 5th at 2 p.m., following Nichols' commencement ceremony in which valedictorian Steve Carella will give an address. Carella was a double winner in the Bison's semifinal victory, pairing for an exciting top doubles win with first-year Brandon Roode and a straight-sets fifth singles win to put Nichols ahead, 4-0.

Doubles play was a nail-biting affair, particularly at the second flight where the Gulls duo of Ben Randlett and Eric Gandrup took quick 4-1 lead over David Drucker and Dan Saucier. The Bison pair rallied from early unforced errors to go on to win, 8-4.

At the top flight, Carella and Roode were the early leaders before Olivier Joggi and Jake Cohen won two games to take the lead, 3-2. Nichols won the next two to go up, 5-3, before EC took the next pair for a 5-5 score. Nichols served to go up 6-5, Roode whipped a forehand down the line to break for the seventh game and then served for the 8-5 win.

Isiah Prosper and Justin Deluca rolled to an 8-2 victory at the third flight to defeat Mike Lauretano and Porter Williams.

Carella and Saucier quickly went ahead in the first set of singles play at fifth and sixth singles against Justin Warshavsky and Tim Forance, and by the time they starting their second sets, the rest of the Bison lineup was ahead by a set.

Carella was the first to finish on the singles side, defeating Warshavsky, 6-1, 6-2. Meanwhile, Saucier was ahead of Forance, 6-1, 5-3, but allowed the Gull a point before finishing him off on his serve. This allowed Prosper to finish just 18 seconds ahead of his 6-1, 6-4 win.

Prosper's match at the third flight was slow to start, but he gained momentum against Williams as the senior battled a shoulder injury throughout. Despite this, Williams used a variety of shots to thwart Prosper's intimidating power as he tried to hold on. Prosper – and his serve – were eventually too much as he clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-2 win.

Nichols and Roger Williams meet for the second-straight year in the CCC Championship. The Hawks upset Nichols, 5-1, in last year's title match in Dudley. Nichols won the teams' regular-season meeting earlier this year, 7-2, also in Dudley. 


Tennis Match Results
Endicott vs Nichols
05/02/12 at Dudley, Mass.
(Francis W. Robinson Courts)

Nichols 6, Endicott 0

Singles competition
1. Brandon Roode (NC) vs. Olivier Joggi (EC) 7-5, 5-0, unfinished
2. David Drucker (NC) vs. Evan Ross (EC) 6-1, 4-2, unfinished
3. Isiah Prosper (NC) def. Porter Williams (EC) 6-1, 6-2
4. Justin DeLuca (NC) vs. Jake Cohen (EC) 6-0, 5-1, unfinished
5. Steve Carella (NC) def. Justin Warshavsky (EC) 6-1, 6-2
6. Dan Saucier (NC) def. Tim Forance (EC) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Steve Carella/Brandon Roode (NC) def. Olivier Joggi/Jake Cohen (EC) 8-5
2. Dan Saucier/David Drucker (NC) def. Ben Randlett/Eric Gandrup (EC) 8-4
3. Justin DeLuca/Isiah Prosper (NC) def. Mike Lauretano/Porter Williams (EC) 8-2

Match Notes:
Endicott 10-12
Nichols 16-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,3,6)
Commonwealth Coast Conference Semifinal
Referee: Michael Kalinowski. Official: Diane Cortese
Nichols to host Roger Williams in CCC Championship Saturday 5/2 at 2 p.m.
Nichols wins program record 15th-straight match