BEVERLY, Mass . – The Endicott College men's tennis team won two of three doubles flights and took three singles matches to claim a 5-1 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology in an opening-round match of the 2014 Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Tennis Tournament.
With the win the third-seeded Gulls improve to 9-7 and will travel to second-seeded Roger Williams for a CCC semifinal on Wednesday. The Leopards, under first-year head coach, end their season with a 4-8 record.
Endicott took a 1-0 lead after junior Timothy Forance (Natick, Mass.) teamed with classmate Eric Gandrup (Salisbury, Mass.) to post an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles over Leopard sophomore Gaurav Tilva (Windsor, Conn.) and freshman Mike Withington (Plymouth, Mass.). The Gulls upped their lead to 2-0 with an identical 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles as junior Michael Lauretano (Winchester, Mass.) and freshman Sean McAndrews (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) defeated freshman Nate Schwartz (Chester Springs, Pa.) and sophomore Josh Dowd (Bristol, Conn.).
The Leopards cut the lead in half when sophomore James Drum (Madison, Conn.) teamed with freshman Matthew Smith (Pelham, N.H.) to take an 8-4 win at No. 1 over senior Evan Ross (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore Michael Dolph (Stratford, Conn.).
Endicott used three, straight-set victories to claim the match while holding Wentworth to a total of five games won in those six sets. McAndrews defeated freshman Zach Peter (Preston, Conn.), 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 to make it a 3-1 match. Lauretano defeated freshman Seng Ly (Lynn, Mass.), 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4 to increase the lead to 4-1 before junior Justin Warshavsky (East Hartford, Conn.) clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Dowd at No. 6.
Endicott 5, Wentworth 1
Singles competition
1. Evan Ross (EC) vs. James Drum (WIT) 6-2, 5-1, unfinished
2. Timothy Forance (EC) vs. Matthew Smith (WIT) 6-2, 2-4, unfinished
3. Michael Dolph (EC) vs. Nate Schwartz (WIT) 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
4. Michael Lauretano (EC) def. Seng Ly (WIT) 6-0, 6-1
5. Sean McAndrews (EC) def. Zach Peter (WIT) 6-1, 6-1
6. Justin Warshavsky (EC) def. Josh Dowd (WIT) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. James Drum/Matthew Smith (WIT) def. Evan Ross/Michael Dolph (EC) 8-4
2. Michael Lauretano/Sean McAndrews (EC) def. Nate Schwartz/Josh Dowd (WIT) 8-1
3. Timothy Forance/Eric Gandrup (EC) def. Gaurav Tilva/Mike Withington (WIT) 8-1
Match Notes:
Wentworth 4-8
Endicott 9-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,4,6)
T-2:15 A-53