Springfield, Mass. — October 1, 2012 — Kyle Mersereau, Ben Burnap, Joe Giannelli, and Alex Orban all won their singles and doubles matches to lead their Springfield College men’s tennis team to an 8-1 victory over cross-town rival Western New England University this evening at SC’s Julius Appleton Courts.
With the win, the Pride is now 1-1 on the fall season. The Golden Bears become 0-1.
Mersereau, a sophomore from Brunswick, Me., finished up the competition under the lights with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) win over WNE senior Chris Holzinger (Foster, R.I.) at No. 1 singles. Mersereau was down 4-1 in the second set, but came all the way back for the victory. Kyle teamed with Burnap, a senior from Westerly, R.I., to win at No. 1 doubles, 8-3, over Holzinger and sophomore Peter LeFrancois (Marlborough, Mass.).
SC swept the doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead at the outset. Giannelli, a junior from Watertown, Conn., and Orban, a sophomore from Milford, Conn., won their match, 8-2, at No. 2 doubles over sophomore Gregory Tischofer (Portland, Conn.) and freshman Ethan Belisle (Chicopee, Mass.).
At No. 3 doubles, it was sophomore Cody Rodrigues (Westfield, Mass.) and senior Zac Goldstein (Shelton, Conn.) of SC defeating sophomore John Mindek (Willington, Conn.) and freshman Andres Otero (Caracas, Venezuela), 8-6.
In singles play, the Pride captured five of the six matches, falling only at No. 6. Besides Mersereau’s win at No. 1, Burnap defeated freshman Alex Sause (Cusago, Italy), 6-1, 6-3, at No. 2.
At No. 3, it was Giannelli over LeFrancois, 6-2, 6-2. At No. 4, it was Orban over Belisle, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6). At No. 5, it was Goldstein over freshman Andrew Schnier (Long Beach, N.Y.), 7-5, 7-5. Schnier held off three match points by Goldstein before succumbing on the fourth.
The Golden Bears managed its only team point at No. 6 singles, as junior Tyler Unwin (Pittsfield, Vt.) defeated Rodrigues, 6-4, 6-4, winning four of the last five games in the second set to do so.
Team Score — Springfield 8, Western New England 1
Doubles
1) Kyle Mersereau/Ben Burnap (SC) def. Chris Holzinger/Peter LeFrancois (WNE), 8-3
2) Joe Giannelli/Alex Orban (SC) def. Greg Tischofer/Ethan Belisle (WNE), 8-2
3) Zac Goldstein/Cody Rodrigues (SC) def. John Mindek/Andres Otero (WNE), 8-6
Singles
1) Mersereau (SC) def. Holzinger (WNE), 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
2) Burnap (SC) def. Alex Sause (WNE), 6-1, 6-3
3) Giannelli (SC) def. LeFrancois (WNE), 6-2, 6-2
4) Orban (SC) def. Belisle (WNE), 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
5) Goldstein (SC) def. Andrew Schnier (WNE), 7-5, 7-5
6) Tyler Unwin (WNE) def. Rodrigues (SC), 6-4, 6-4
Records:
Springfield — 1-1
WNE — 0-1
