Men's Tennis (10-6, 3-2) Posts 2-1 Mark to End Regular Season, Clinches Third Seed

The Wheaton College men's tennis team completed its regular season slate with a 2-1 mark on the road last week while clinching the third seed in the upcoming New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament. The Lyons dispatched of Clark University, 9-0 on Monday in league play before downing Salem State College, 6-3 on Thursday. In a Saturday NEWMAC match, Wheaton fell to Babson College, 5-3, as the Blue and White finished the regular season on a 10-3 roll after beginning the school year 0-3. The Lyons recorded a double-digit win total for the ninth time in the past 11 seasons, as underclassmen have combined for 41 of the team's 59 singles triumphs this year and had a hand in 22 of 30 doubles victories. Wheaton will host sixth-seeded Clark in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament on Thursday, and the Norton campus will also serve as the host site of the semifinal and final rounds on Saturday. The Lyons look to qualify for the semifinals for the seventh straight season and the 10th time in the league's 11-year history.

Against the Cougars last week, seven Wheaton players combined for nine wins. In doubles play, the tandems of junior James Little (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island)/freshman Neall Oliver (Portland, ME/Deering), senior Nii Manfoi Davies (Town & Country, MO/The Principia)/junior Kyle Hudgins (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) and sophomores Harry Altman (Riverdale, NY/The Dwight School)/Brian Krantz (Milford, CT/Joseph A. Foran) were each victorious. Altman, Hudgins, Little and sophomore Cullen Garrity (Middletown, MD/Saint James School) all won singles matches in straight sets, while Krantz and Oliver pulled out three-set triumphs.

The doubles duos of Little/Oliver, Davies/Hudgins and Altman/Krantz each earned wins at Salem State to give the Lyons a 3-0 lead heading into singles, where Altman, Krantz and Little all notched victories in straight sets. Garrity and Hudgins took their opponents to three sets before falling.

At Babson, the doubles pairings of Davies/Hudgins and Altman/Krantz each won, but Wheaton dropped four of the five singles matches that were completed. Altman won his match in straight sets.