Box Score

QUINCY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's tennis team knocked off top seeded Eastern Nazarene, 5-3, to earn its sixth-consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship Sunday afternoon at the ENC Tennis Courts.
 
The Bison avenged their only blemish from the regular season in their conference record as well as their only loss of the calendar year 2017. This marks the third year in a row that Nichols has upset the top seeded team in the championship match.
 
"I am elated for today's win. This team really understands what it means to pull together and get things done," said Nichols head coach Paul Brower. "I am very impressed to see them close things out in such a dramatic fashion."
 
The Lions (17-4) – led 2-1 after doubles during the regular season meeting – but found themselves trailing 2-1 after doubles in the CCC Championship. Sophomore Alex Partyka (Moscow, Russia) and freshman Henry Siercke (Hamburg, Germany) completed their perfect doubles record against conference opponents as they defeated fellow CCC First Team-doubles pair of sophomore Blake Norton (Stratford, Conn.) and freshman Brandon Howard (Hamden, Conn.), 8-5.
 
Sophomore Igor Markowski (Paris, France) and freshman Peter Coletti (Beverly, Mass.) earned an 8-3 win over freshman Laurent Ruttkowski (Castrop-Rauxel, Germany) and senior Davis Steelman (Darlington, Md.) at No. 3 doubles.
 
The Bison took the 2-1 lead after doubles as senior captain James Smith (Monte Sereno, Calif.) and freshman Guilherme Barbosa (Bradenton, Fla.) defeated freshmen Santiago Camero (Valencia, Venezuela) and Kyle Pierson (Redding, Calif.), 8-4.
 
"Truly so many people deserve recognition for today's win," said Brower. "Our three doubles pair, with Peter Coletti stepping in alongside Igor was clutch and dominant in their match. James and Gui giving us the 2-1 lead really gave us the momentum heading into singles."
 
Other than the No. 6 singles match – which barely started before the entire match was decided – every singles match went into three sets. Siercke defeated Howard 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at No. 2 singles to even the score, 2-2, before Smith got the best of Ruttkowski at No. 3 singles 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 to put the Bison back in the lead.
 
Freshman Jack Donaldson (Easton, Md.) picked up the win at No. 5 singles over Pierson 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to pull Nichols to within a win of another conference championship.
 
Refusing to go down without a fight, the CCC Player of the Year, Partyka, rallied back to win the final two sets over Norton 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to pull the Lions to within a point.
 
Just as the CCC Semifinal against No. 3 Gordon did for the Bison, the match was decided by No. 4 singles. Barbosa dropped the first set to Camero before rallying back to claim the championship 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
 
"Singles was an all-out battle, the Eastern Naz guys competed incredibly hard," said Brower. "I couldn't be more proud of our guys and the way fought. Smitty, our captain came up huge at three, then Jack with a huge win at 5, and finally Guilherme coming up big to clinch the match was amazing."
 
The No. 6 singles match between Steelman and senior Jake Zapatka (Wethersfield, Conn.) was 4-2 Bison in the first set before going unfinished.
 
"Not to be lost in the shuffle is the contribution of Jake Zapatka. Jake was up big when it ended and was well on his way to a win," said Brower. "He was on a mission after the CCC coaches elected not to honor him in the all-conference awards and was absolutely taking apart his opponent who was recognized. It's poetic justice for someone who has meant so much to this program."
 
The Bison win the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and will await to see when and where they will play.
 
"A huge thanks go out to all the alumni, family, and friends who showed up in force to support us. We are all fortunate to be part of such an amazing family," said Brower.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison had won 11-consecutive meetings with the Lions prior to dropping the match during the regular season. They now lead the all-time series at, 34-7.
 
Next Games
No. 2 Nichols (18-3) – NCAA Tournament, TBA
No. 1 Eastern Nazarene (17-4) – season completed