#3 Men’s Tennis Falls to #2 Nichols in CCC Semifinals, 5-0

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Eastern Nazarene men's tennis team concluded the 2013 campaign with a 5-0 loss to Nichols in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament semifinals Wednesday afternoon at Assumption College. The third-seeded Lions slip to 11-8 on the season while the second-seeded Bison improve to 17-5 overall and advance to the CCC Tournament title match.

Nichols, ranked No. 18 in the Northeast Region by the ITA, swept the three doubles matches to command a 3-0 lead.

Austin Steelman (Darlington, Md.) and Sam Son (Wilbraham, Mass.) suffered an 8-2 setback at the No. 1 position to Brandon Roode and Eduardo Irizarry. Sam McKay-Corkum (Rehoboth, Mass.) and Tim Luz (Cumberland, R.I.) dropped an 8-1 decision to David Drucker and Justin DeLuca at the second spot. Tyler Perron (Plympton, Mass.) and Nick Thompson (York, Pa.) absorbed an 8-3 loss at the third slot.

The Bison captured a pair of singles wins to earn a spot in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament championship bout May 4.

McKay-Corkum endured a 6-2, 6-2 loss at the No. 2 slot to Irizarry while Son fell at the No. 3 position 6-1, 6-1 to Drucker.

When the match was called, Steelman trailed 4-2 in the second set after dropping the opening set 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. Luz and Nichols' Carlos De La Cruz were tied 5-5 in the first set at the fourth position. Kevin Paterno (Buenos Aires, Argentina) faced a 5-0 deficit in the second set at the fifth slot after falling 6-3 in the first set.