WORCESTER, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Tennis team could not upend two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference Champions Nichols College, as the Hawks fell 5-1 Saturday afternoon at the Corash Tennis Courts.

The win gives the Bison the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins Friday, May 8 at a site TBD. The win also extends their win streak to 17, with their last loss coming to Division I UConn on March 16 in Puerto Rico. On Tuesday, Nichols head coach and CCC Coach of the Year Paul Brower saw his team reach the 20-win plateau for the first time in program history, with today's win pushing that mark to 21 against only one loss.

Nichols won two of the three doubles matches to open the championship. Senior and CCC Player of the Year Justin DeLuca (Mashpee, Mass.) and junior Brandon Roode (Griswold, Conn.) handled RWU's team of senior Taylor Webster (Bristol, Conn.) and junior Ryan Swanson (West Newbury, Mass.) at No. 1 doubles, 8-5. The win extends DeLuca's program record for doubles wins record to 64.

At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Josh Halpern (Secaucus, N.J.) and freshman James Smith (Monte Sereno, Calif.) upended sophomores Eric Bott (Bethel, Conn.) and Jonah Schwartz (Orange, Conn.), 8-5, to give Nichols a 2-0 lead in the match. The Hawks scored a 9-7 (7-4) win in a tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles to cut their deficit in half as junior Zach Bussiere (Colchester, Conn.) and sophomore Eric Laboissonniere (Cumberland, R.I.) knocked off sophomore Carlos De La Cruz (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic) and freshman and CCC Rookie of the Year Joan Castillo (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic).

Halpern secured the Bison's third point of the afternoon with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Schwartz at No. 5 singles. Roode disposed of Laboissonniere 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to put the Bison on the brink of a 'Three-Peat,' and DeLuca wrapped the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Bussiere at No. 1 singles. DeLuca now owns 67 career singles wins, also a program record.

The Bison have won their NCAA First Round match in each of their previous trips to the tournament, having scored wins over Marywood (5-0) in 2012 and Colby-Sawyer (5-0) last May.

The Hawks end their season at 14-5.

- Release courtesy of the Nichols College Sports Information Department