United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Men's Tennis - Wheaton Holds off Bears in NEWMAC Tourney

NORTON, MASS.--(4/24/08)--Sophomore James Little's three-set singles victory clinched the fourth-seeded Wheaton College men's tennis team a 5-3 triumph over the number-five United States Coast Guard Academy in the opening round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Thursday at the Clark Tennis Courts. Now 9-6, the Lyons will take on nine-time league champion Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the tournament's top seed, on Saturday in the semifinals at Coast Guard. The Bears end their season at 3-14.

Wheaton gained an early edge in the match thanks to a pair of doubles victories, as sophomore Kyle Hudgins and freshman Brian Krantz notched an 8-5 win in the third position, while Harry Altman and Cullen Garrity corralled an 8-1 win at three.

Coast Guard earned a win in the top flight, as senior Ryan Beck and sophomore Chris Pappe notched an 8-4 victory, and the Bears entered singles action down just one.

During singles play, the teams split the first four completed matches, and the Lyons held a narrow 4-3 edge with Little and Pappe still in action in the second position. Little took the opening set, 6-4 before Pappe followed suit to knot the match, but Little responded with a 6-2 triumph in the third set to clinch Wheaton's win, as the teams played to decision.

In the remaining singles contests, Krantz notched a 6-3, 6-4 win at number four, while Altman earned a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the fifth slot. For Coast Guard, Beck picked up a 6-3, 6-4 win in the top position, and freshman James Vuckovic was triumphant at number three, 6-3, 6-1.