CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Western New England College men's tennis team claimed its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament title in four years with a solid 6-3 victory over two-time defending champion Emerson College Sunday (April 29).

The Golden Bears captured four singles and two doubles flights to finish the season with a 10-1 record, which included a nine-match winning streak to end the year.

Sophomore Alex Boutin (Bristol, CT) won both his No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles matches to lead the way.

Sophomore Connor Fallon (Springfield, MA) had a key three-set win at the No. 5 singles winning the final set in a tie-breaker (7-1).

"I'm very happy for the team," said second-year Western New England College coach Doug Pearson. "We've been playing well and it's nice to see the players rewarded for their hard work."

Pearson is the only Golden Bears' coach to win conference titles in two men's sports. His basketball squads took GNAC crowns in 2000 and 2001.

Western New England College 6, Emerson 3

Singles
Aman Kapur (E) def. Mike Willhoft, 6-4, 6-1
Varun Kapur (E) def. Jason Lee, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Alex Boutin (W) def. David Fein, 6-1, 6-0
Peter Houser (W) def. Jeremy Glenn, 6-3, 6-4
Connor Fallon (W) def. Ben Thompson, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1)
Jonathan Riter (W) def. Ricardo Galvon, 6-4, 7-5

Doubles
Mike Willhoft/Jason Lee (W) def. Aman Kapur/Matt McKinney, 8-3
Alex Boutin/Andrew D'Addio (W) def. Varun Kapur/David Fein, 8-5
Ben Thompson/Jeremy Glenn (E) def. Peter Houser/Connor Fallon, 8-4