Men’s Tennis Downs Franklin Pierce, Clipped by Regis Monday

WESTON, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's tennis team edged NCAA Division II foe Franklin Pierce 5-4 before narrowly falling to Regis 5-4 on day one of the Regis Invitational.

The Lions progress to 2-2 overall with the two results. The Ravens sink to 0-4 on the year and the Pride improves to 5-1.

In the first match of the day, Eastern Nazarene notched a pair of doubles wins against Franklin Pierce to grab a 2-1 lead.

Vladislav Tolmachev (Perm, Russia) and Kevin Paterno (Buenos Aires, Argentina) topped Andrew Schadt and Olivier Viel 6-4 at the No. 2 position.

Andres Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Yahalel Carter (Chicago, Ill.) bested Logan Sherwood and Dan Longtin 6-3 at the third spot.

Davis Steelman (Darlington, Md.) and Shaw Campbell (Reading, Calif.) suffered a 6-0 setback to James Bisazza and Marcus Lawrence at the top slot.

The two squads split the six singles matches as the Lions escaped with a narrow 5-4 win.

Steelman outlasted Schadt in a third-set super-tiebreaker 10-7 at the No. 3 singles match after each player earned a 6-4 win in the first two sets.

Campbell cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Viel at the fourth spot. Biondi prevailed at the No. 5 position 6-2, 7-5 over Sherwood.

Tolmachev, Paterno and Carter all fell in straight sets at the first, second and sixth singles slots, respectively.

In the second match of the invitational, Eastern Nazarene came up just short against Regis and endured a 5-4 loss.

The Lions managed just one doubles win and faced a 2-1 deficit heading into singles action.

Tolmachev and Paterno notched a 6-4 victory at the No. 2 spot over Jarid Polley and Matt Quattrociocchi.

Steelman and Campbell suffered a 7-5 loss to Chris Harrow and Luke Horton at the No. 1 position. Biondi and Carter endured a 6-4 setback to Austin Nace and Nick Hildreth at the third slot.

Each team collected three singles wins as Regis secured a 5-4 victory.

Tolmachev topped Harrow at the top singles position 6-4, 6-1. Paterno held a 5-0 lead in the first set in the second singles match before his opponent retired.

Steelman emerged victorious in a three-set battle for the second time on the day at the No. 3 slot. The senior picked up a 6-2 win in the opening frame before Quattrociocchi rallied to even the match with a 6-0 decision in the second. Steelman eked out a 10-8 win in the third-set super-tiebreaker.

Biondi fell in three sets to Cam Charbonneau at the fourth spot. Biondi triumphed in the first frame 6-2 before conceding the second 6-1 and narrowly falling in the third-set super-tiebreaker 10-8.

Campbell and Carter each absorbed straight-set losses at the fourth and sixth singles matches, respectively.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene wraps up the fall slate as it hosts its annual Fall Invitational October 17.