Boxscore

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Nichols College, the defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champion which is ranked 18th in New England, swept all six singles and three doubles matches in a 9-0 shutout of host Western New England University at the Volvo Outdoor Tennis Courts on Thursday. The Bison improve to 9-3 overall while the Golden Bears fall to 1-6 in the conference opener for both squads.

"We battled for every point this afternoon. Nichols is slated to finish first in the league, but every one of our players went into the match with an optimistic attitude that they could win," Western New England coach Jennifer Kolins said after the match. "Even though we didn't pull out the victory, we raised our game to the next level, and will be mentally and physically prepared for our next match which is against conference opponent Roger Williams (on Saturday in Bristol, R.I.).

Senior Chris Holzinger led the Golden Bears by taking three sets in a 6-2, 6-1 loss at the hands of Brandon Roode, who is ranked 15th in the region, in No. 1 singles action. Holzinger also teamed up with sophomore Peter Lefrancois at No. 1 doubles to test Roode and Eduardo Irizarry before falling 8-5.

2012-13 Golden Bears Men's Tennis
Nichols vs Western New England (Mar 28, 2013)
#18 Nichols 9, Western New England 0
Mar 28, 2013 at Springfield, Mass.

Singles Competition
1. Brandon Roode (NC) def. Chris Holzinger (WNE-M) 6-2, 6-1
2. Justin DeLuca (NC) def. Alexander Sause (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-0
3. Eduardo Irizarry (NC) def. Andres Otero (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-0
4. David Drucker (NC) def. Peter Lefrancois (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-2
5. Carlos De La Cruz (NC) def. Tyler Unwin (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-1
6. Josh Halpern (NC) def. John Mindek (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles Competition
1. Brandon Roode/Eduardo Irizarry (NC) def. Chris Holzinger/Peter Lefrancois (WNE-M) 8-5
2. Justin DeLuca/David Drucker (NC) def. Andres Otero/Alexander Sause (WNE-M) 8-1
3. Josh Halpern/Carlos De La Cruz (NC) def. John Mindek/Greg Tischofer (WNE-M) 8-0

Match Notes
Nichols 9-3 (1-0 CCC); Regional ranking #18
Western New England 1-6 (0-1 CCC)
Commonwealth Coast Conference match
T-2:50 A-50