Box Score

QUINCY, Mass.- Graduate student David Drucker (Bellmore, N.Y.) collected his 54th career singles victory to tie Steve Carella '12 for first place all-time as the regionally-ranked Nichols College men's tennis team topped Eastern Nazarene, 7-2, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match on Saturday afternoon. The Bison, ranked #18 in the Northeast Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), jump to 10-4 overall and 2-0 in conference matches. as the Lions slip to 7-5 on the year and 3-1 in the CCC.

Drucker posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory at the fourth flight to go along with his doubles win earlier in the match. First-year Eduardo Irizarry (Lajas, Puerto Rico) cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory at the third flight to remain undefeated through nine singles matches this spring. Senior Justin DeLuca (Mashpee, Mass.) also earned a straight-set victory with a 6-0, 6-1 decision at the second flight. Eastern Nazarene senior Austin Steelman (Darlington, Md.) tested the region's 15th ranked student-athlete but sophomore Brandon Roode (Griswold, Conn.) overcame a 4-6 first set to take the top flight 7-6, 1-0 (10-6). At the fifth flight, rookie Carlos De La Cruz (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) rebounded from a 2-6 set to claim the flight 6-4, 1-0 (10-5). Sophomore Gregory Parenteau (Wolcott, Conn.) earned a singles victory for the Lions as he downed first-year Jonathan Roy (Rowley, Mass.), 6-3, 6-1.

The Bison held a 2-1 lead after the doubles session as Roode and Irizarry took the first flight 8-2 as Drucker and DeLuca teamed for an 8-3 win at the second flight. Rookie Josh Halpern (Secaucus, N.J.) and De La Cruz were tripped up 8-1 at the third flight by rookie Kevin Paterno (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and sophomore Tyler Perron (Plympton, Mass.).

Both squads are on the road for CCC matches on Wednesday. Nichols heads to Roger Williams for a 4:00 p.m. showdown while Eastern Nazarene travels to Gordon for a 3:30 p.m. first serve.

Contributions from Eastern Nazarene Sports Information