Men's Tennis Clinches CCC Tournament Bid with Win over Western New England

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman Thomas Kot's (Farmington, Conn.) win at No. 5 singles capped off a comeback that saw the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's tennis team defeat Western New England, 5-4, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference match on Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Leopards improve to 6-11 overall and 3-4 in CCC play and also nailed down a spot in the upcoming CCC Tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Western New England quickly grabbed a 2-0 lead in doubles play. At No. 2, freshman Thomas Roche (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and senior Michael Robichaud (Auburn, Mass.) were 8-3 winners over Kot and freshman Eric Doraci (Natick, Mass.). Senior Paul Riccio (Branford, Conn.) and freshman Tyler Macdowall (Prospect, Conn.) were 8-2 winners over senior Aidan Gordon (Douglas, Mass.) and freshman James Weete (Dover, N.H.) at No. 3. The Leopards cut the lead to 2-1 at No. 1 as sophomore Pranav Marwaha (Nashua, N.H.) and freshman Rene Rodriguez (Doral, Fla.) defeated sophomore Nick Bayer (Bedford, N.H.) and sophomore Brandon Greger (Bristol, R.I.), 8-6.
• Rodriguez tied the match with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Robichaud at No. 3 before junior Daniel Gallegos (Monterrey, Mexico) put the Black & Gold on top, 3-2, with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Bayer at No. 1. Wentworth went on the brink of clinching the match when Marwaha was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Greger at No. 2, however, the Golden Bears cut the lead to 4-3 when Riccio defeated senior Owen Conlon (Cataumet, Mass.), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).
• Kot picked up the match-clinching win with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Macdowall before Roche defeated Doraci, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 3.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth closes out the regular season on Wednesday night at Suffolk.

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