DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's tennis team came away with wins over Franklin Pierce, Rhode Island College, and Saint Anselm Saturday afternoon at the Pomfret School.
 
The Bison started the day by defeating the Ravens, 7-2, before handing the Anchormen a 9-0 sweep. Nichols ended the afternoon by coming away with another 9-0 win over the Hawks.
 
"We got off to a great start in doubles versus Franklin Pierce but had some tough matches in singles," said Nichols head coach Paul Brower. "Blake, Jake and Gui all had to fight hard for their wins but came out on top. Kudos to Gui for clinching the match in a second set tiebreaker."
 
The doubles pairing of senior captain James Smith (Monte Sereno, Calif.) and freshman Guilherme Barbosa (Bradenton, Fla.) was the only consistent aspect of all three matches on the day for the Bison. They defeated the Franklin Pierce sophomore duo of Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.) and Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.), 8-2, at No. 2 doubles. They then played in the top flight against RIC and won 8-1 before going back to the No. 2 slot against Saint Anselm and winning, 8-0.
 
"Our doubles was a strong suit for us today, going 9-0," said Brower. "We finished points and really did a great job early in each match."
 
Sophomore Blake Norton (Stratford, Conn.) also had a strong day coming away with four wins – two at No. 1 singles and two at No. 1 doubles – including a 6-4, 5-7, 14-12 thriller against the Ravens top player, sophomore James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.).
 
Senior Jake Zapatka (Wethersfield, Conn.) was another notable on the day for the Bison – winning singles matches against Franklin Pierce to start the day and against Saint Anselm to end the day.
 
"Our seniors were great with Smitty winning four points on the day and Jake with two," said Brower.
 
The Bison improved to 4-2 on the year and now head to Humacao, Puerto Rico for three matches (Rochester, UPR-Rio Pierdras, and UPR-Mayaguez) next week.