Western New England Shut Out by Defending CCC Champion Nichols on Senior Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Senior co-captain Tyler Unwin made his final home appearance in a Western New England University men's tennis uniform on Thursday, but visiting Nichols College spoiled Senior Day with a 9-0 victory in both teams' regular season finale at the Volvo Outdoor Courts. The defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champion Bison improve to 19-1 overall and 8-0 in the CCC, while the Golden Bears fall even to 8-8 and 4-4.

Despite trailing 3-0 going into the singles round, Western New England gave the Bison fits in doubles action as the three matches were decided by four games or less. Juniors Peter LeFrancois and PJ Nassar were edged 8-6 by the No. 2 tandem of Joan Castillo/Carlos De La Cruz.

Western New England will be the No. 5 seed in the CCC Championship Tournament that gets under way on Saturday (noon) with the Golden Bears traveling to Quincy to take on fourth-seeded Eastern Nazarene (8-9 overall, 5-3 conference) in a quarterfinal match.

Singles competition

1. Justin DeLuca (NC) def. Alexander Sause (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-0

2. Brandon Roode (NC) def. Andres Otero (WNE-M) 6-2, 6-1

3. Joan Castillo (NC) def. Peter LeFrancois (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-1

4. Carlos De La Cruz (NC) def. Tyler Unwin (WNE-M) 6-1, 6-2

5. Josh Halpern (NC) def. Adam Zimmerman (WNE-M) 6-1, 6-1

6. Jake Zapatka (NC) def. John Mindek (WNE-M) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Justin DeLuca/Brandon Roode (NC) def. Alexander Sause/Andres Otero (WNE-M) 8-4

2. Joan Castillo/Carlos De La Cruz (NC) def. Peter LeFrancois/PJ Nassar (WNE-M) 8-6

3. Josh Halpern/James Smith (NC) def. John Mindek/GregTischofer (WNE-M) 8-4

Match Notes