BRISTOL, R.I. — The overcast skies exuded a dreary mood but, on the court, the feel was anything but for the Roger Williams University Men's Tennis team as they dispatched Bridgewater State University, 9-0 at the RWU Tennis Courts on Thursday afternoon. In the process, the Hawks saw their winning streak extend to ten-straight matches dating back to the fall as they equaled their win total from the abbreviated 2021 season.
With the win, RWU improves to 10-1 overall and they have taken eight in a row since opening their spring slate of games in February. In addition, three of their four victories since returning from their spring break trip in Florida have come in shutout fashion. The Bears on the other hand, fall to 4-3 on the year.
Hawk Highlights
Roger Williams staked themselves to a quick lead in doubles play as they really dominated the top two matchups. At the topflight of duos action,
Dan Tocco (East Quogue, N.Y.) and
Jon Trevethan (Berlin, Conn.) maintained their perfect spring by handling Colin Lamusta (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Jeff Pavao (Somerset, Mass.), 8-2. It was an even more dominant performance from
Johnny Baldyga (Simsbury, Conn.) and
Ryan Schuck (Glastonbury, Conn.) at doubles #2, as they dispatched Sean Nutter (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and Kendan Zeigler (Hadley, N.Y.), 8-1. The most closely contested pairs action came at #3 doubles but
Sam Gibson (East Hampton, Conn.) and
Alex Smith (Bedford, N.H.) nonetheless beat Darius Desnoes (Ithica, N.Y.) and Charles Fiske (Taunton, Mass.), 8-5.
The Hawks rode their momentum straight into singles play. At the topflight, Trevethan dominated Pavao, 6-1, 6-1 while Tocco took care of Lamusta, 6-2, 6-3 in #2 singles. Meanwhile, on the lower courts, some fresh legs in the form of
Tyler Cain (Montpelier, Vt.) and
Arlex Correa (Lynnfield, Mass.) were picking up RWU wins as Correa beat Robert Dwyer (Yarmouth Port, Mass.), 6-1, 6-4 and Cain rolled Desnoes, 6-3, 6-0. The best singles matches in this contest were in the third and fourth flights. In singles #4, Nutter and Baldyga split the first two sets with Nutter taking the first set, 6-3, and Baldyga grabbing the second, 6-1. As a result, they needed a tiebreaking third set that saw Baldyga win, 10-7. The match at singles #3 was on a similar course as Ziegler beat
Matt Glassman (West Hartford, Conn.), 6-1 in the first set. Glassman was bound to get even in the second set as he held a 5-2 advantage before Ziegler elected to take the loss by retirement.
What's Next
In a match that was originally supposed to be played up in Boston, Roger Williams will instead remain home on Saturday to host Suffolk University for a conference showdown in Bristol. Start time is set for noon.
