Box Score

QUINCY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's tennis team dropped its first conference match of the year as it fell 5-4 to Eastern Nazarene in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Monday afternoon at the ENC Tennis Courts.
 
The Bison fell behind 2-1 after doubles before splitting the singles matches with the Lions to suffer their first defeat in 16 matches.
 
The Lions got things going by upsetting two-time reigning CCC weekly award winners – sophomore Blake Norton (Stratford, Conn.) and freshman Brandon Howard (Hamden, Conn.). Sophomore Alex Partyka (Moscow, Russia) and freshman Henry Siercke (Hamburg, Germany) won the top flight matchup with Norton and Howard, 8-4.
 
Senior captain James Smith (Monte Sereno, Calif.) and freshman Guilherme Barbosa (Bradenton, Fla.) helped the Bison bounce back with an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles over freshmen Santiago Camero (Valencia, Venezuela) and Kyle Pierson (Redding, Calif.).
 
The Lions took the lead right back with a hard fought battle at No. 3 doubles where freshman Laurent Ruttkowski (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany) and senior Davis Steelman (Darlington, Md.) got the best of the sophomore pairing of Kirill Ivanov (Moscow, Russia) and Igor Markowski (Paris, France).
 
ENC went up 4-1 on Nichols after taking the top two singles matches. Partyka handed Norton his first loss in conference-action 6-3, 6-2 in the top flight before Howard dropped his first conference match, 6-1, 6-2 to Siercke.
 
The Bison attempted to bounce back with wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles. Smith had no trouble with Ruttkowski – winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Senior Jake Zapatka (Wethersfield, Conn.) defeated Steelman at No. 6 singles 6-3, 6-1, to bring the overall score to 4-3.
 
The Lions sealed the deal at No. 5 singles as Pierson knocked off freshman Jack Donaldson (Easton, Md.) 7-5, 6-3.
 
Barbosa ended the day with a win at No. 4 singles over Camero 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
 
All-Time Series
The win for the Lions snaps an 11-match losing streak to the Bison but Nichols still holds the overwhelming lead in the all-time series at, 33-7.
 
Next Games
Nichols (16-3, 7-1 CCC) – CCC Tournament next week
Eastern Nazarene (14-3, 6-1 CCC) – Tuesday, April 25 at Gordon, 4:00 p.m.