Box Score

POMFRET CENTER, Conn. – In a rematch of last season's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship match, the Nichols College men's tennis team picked up a 6-3 victory over Eastern Nazarene College at the Pomfret Academy on Saturday night.
 
The Bison improve to 9-2 overall and 3-0 in the CCC with the win, while the Lions fall to 10-3 and 2-1 in league matches. Nichols returns to action tomorrow afternoon when they host Colby-Sawyer College and Wheelock College in back-to-back matches at Pomfret Academy starting at 2:00 p.m.
 
Sophomore Brandon Howard and junior Igor Markowski opened the match with an 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles over sophomore Santiago Camero and freshman Julius Opaschowski. Sophomores Guilherme Barbosa and Peter Coletti followed with an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles over sophomores Henry Siercke and Kaden Swarr.
 
Eastern Nazarene grabbed its first point of the day with an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles as junior Alex Partyka and sophomore Laurent Ruttkowski defeated junior Blake Norton and freshman August Moeller to make it a 2-1 score in the match.
 
Norton rebounded to make quick work of Camero at No. 3 singles, posting a straight-set, 6-0, 6-0 victory to make it a 3-1 lead for the Bison. Freshman Brandon Stewart got Nichols one point closer to a win as he registered a 6-3, 6-0 win over Ruttkowski at No. 4 singles.
 
Howard clinched the deciding point for the Bison as he rallied from a 3-6 loss in the opening set to win the final two sets, 6-4, 6-3, and defeat Partyka at No. 1 singles. Barbosa grabbed the final point of the day for Nichols with a 6-3, 6-7, 10-3 win at No. 2 singles over Siercke.
 
The Lions picked up wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to wrap up the match.
 
Coaches Quote
"That was a really strong win over a very talented team. Our doubles was excellent top to bottom and got us off to a great start. Gui, Blake, and Brandon Stewart all deserve credit for quality wins, but the story of the day is Brandon Howard. He shook off a tough first set to defeat an excellent opponent and clinch the match." – Head Coach Paul Brower
 
All-Time Series
Saturday marked the 42nd meeting between the two teams and Nichols leads the all-time series, 35-7.