Golden Bears finish 2018-19 campaign with 11-4 record
DUDLEY, Mass. (May 4, 2019) – Appearing in the championship match of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament for the first time in program history, the second-seeded Western New England University men's tennis team fell 5-0 to top-seeded Nichols College on Saturday afternoon at the Robinson Tennis Courts.
The loss ends Western New England's historic season at 11-4, while Nichols (15-6) earn the CCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Golden Bears put up a battle in doubles play but dropped all three matchups. Nichols opened the contest with an 8-1 win at No. 3 as Peter Coletti and Igor Markowski defeated senior Michael Tran (West Haven, Conn.) and sophomore Max Gordon (Middleton, Mass.).
At the No. 2 spot, Nichols seniors Blake Norton and Sebastian Penaloza came from behind to win 8-7 with a 7-0 tie break over juniors Luke Surawski (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Hippolyte Bonnet (Lille, France.).
The home team completed the doubles sweep with a tight result at No. 1 as juniors Guilherme Barbosa and Brandon Howard edged Western New England's top duo of senior Justin Kohut (South Windsor, Conn.) and junior David Kalmer (Slingerlands, N.Y.) 8-7 with a 7-4 tie break.
Needing just two singles wins to secure their eighth consecutive CCC title, the Bison utilized a 6-1, 6-3 victory for Howard over Kohut at No. 3 and a 6-2, 6-1 result for Penaloza over Surawski at No. 4 to clinch the triumph.
