The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

NORTON, MA- Sophomore James Little's (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) 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 (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) and freshman Brian Krantz (Milford, CT/Joseph A. Foran) notched an 8-5 win in the third position, while first-years Harry Altman (Riverdale, NY/The Dwight School) and Cullen Garrity (Middletown, MD/Saint James School) corralled an 8-1 win at three.

Coast Guard earned a win in the top flight, as senior Ryan Beck (Freehold, NJ) and sophomore Chris Pappe (Kenosha, WI) 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 (Valrico, FL) was triumphant at number three, 6-3, 6-1.

Following are singles and doubles results against Coast Guard:

SINGLES
1. Ryan Beck (CGA)                             d. Gregory Poulin (WC)             6-3, 6-4
2. James Little (WC)                             d. Chris Pappe (CGA)               6-4, 4-6, 6-2
3. James Vuckovic (CGA)                     d. Kyle Hudgins (WC)               6-3, 6-1
4. Brian Krantz (WC)                            d. Tim Ozimek (CGA)               6-3, 6-4
5. Harry Altman (WC)                          d. Brett Sillman (CGA)              6-3, 6-1
6. Nii Manfoi Davies (WC)                    v. Vince Falco (CGA)               6-4, 6-7, incomplete

DOUBLES
1. Beck/Pappe (CGA)                           d. Poulin/Little (WC)                 8-4
2. Hudgins/Krantz (WC)                        d. Vuckovic/Sillman (CGA)        8-5
3. Altman/Cullen Garrity (WC)               d. Ozimek/Falco (CGA)             8-1

Fourth-Seeded Wheaton Takes Squeaker From Number-Five Coast Guard, 5-3 in First Round of NEWMAC Men's Tennis Tournament