Box Score

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. – The Nichols College men's tennis team fell 5-0 to regionally ranked MIT Friday afternoon in the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship First Round at Grande Meadow Tennis Club.

The Engineers – ranked No. 13 in the region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) – improve to 14-5 and will face Bowdoin College Saturday afternoon. Nichols (21-2) ends its 2013-14 season with the best record in school history.

The Bison got behind early, losing each of the doubles matches. Sophomore Josh Halpern (Secaucus, N.J.) and freshman James Smith (Monte Sereno, Calif.) picked up a couple of games after dropping the first seven to pull the No. 3 doubles match to 7-2. Sophomores Jeffrey Bu (Arcadia, Calif.) and Dennis Garcia (Corpus Christi, Texas) took care of the Bison in the next game and secure the Engineers first point, 8-2.

The next match to finish was No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Kevin Wang (Havertown, Pa.) and junior Eugene Oh (Alpharetta, Ga.) defeated senior captain and Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year, Justin DeLuca (Mashpee, Mass.), and junior Brandon Roode (Griswold, Conn.), 8-2.

At No. 2 doubles, sophomore Carlos De La Cruz (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and CCC Freshman of the Year Joan Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) led 6-5 before dropping the final three games to senior Edwin Zhang (Falls Church, Va.) and freshman Kenny Gea (Irvine, Calif.) for a final score of 8-6.

The Engineers closed out the Bison with a pair of of straight-set victories at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Bu got the best of Halpern, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles while, at No. 6 singles, freshman Jake Zapatka (Wethersfield, Conn.) fell to junior Jeffrey Sperling (Los Angeles, Calif.), 6-2, 6-2.

DeLuca was leading Zhang – the 12th ranked player in the Northeast Region by the ITA – 6-2, 1-3 in the second set at No. 1 singles. At No. 2 singles, Roode trailed 2-6, 3-4 to Wang while, at No. 3 singles, Oh was leading Castillo 6-0, 5-4. Gea also led De La Cruz 6-2, 3-4 at No. 4 singles before play was finished.

"Today was a good match and everyone fought hard," said DeLuca. "Unfortunately, we ended up on the losing side of it."

Nichols head coach Paul Brower added, "It is another record-breaking season for these guys. I'm really proud of this group and excited about the future of Nichols tennis."