Seahawks rally past Chargers, 5-4

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University men's tennis team won two of its three doubles matches and defeated Colby-Sawyer College 5-4 Sunday afternoon in The Commonwealth Coast Conference action at the Leroy Avenue courts.

The Seahawks No. 1 doubles team of seniors Andrew Martin (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Steve Masso (No. Scituate, R.I.) was forced to retire up 8-7 with match point following an injury to Martin, which gave Colby-Sawyer freshmen Gustav Norberg (Bromma, Sweden) and Adam Whitman (Newcastle, N.H.) the win. Fortunately for Salve Regina head coach Joe Heckley, his No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams picked up wins to give the Seahawks a 2-1 edge heading into singles play.

Salve Regina's No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Zach Rosenfeld (Easton, Conn.) and freshman Chad Strong (San Diego, Calif.) knocked off the Chargers duo of senior Ben Dabush (Weston, Conn.) and junior Rob Barnes (Wayland, Mass.), 8-4. At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Brian Castrichini (Winchester, Mass.) and freshman Aaron Isch (Tolland, Conn.) scored an 8-5 win over senior Bryan Racz (Stratton, Vt.) and sophomore Chris lavoie (Gorham, Maine.).

With Martin out of action, the Seahawks were forced to move everyone in their singles lineup up one spot. Despite losing at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, the Seahawks picked up points at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 singles to improve to 4-6 overall and 2-0 in TCCC.

Strong picked up a win at No. 3 singles, defeating Whitman in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, while Isch posted a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 come-from-behind win at No. 4 singles over Racz. At No. 5 singles, Castrichini scored a 6-3, 7-5 win over Barnes.

Playing No. 1 singles in place of Martin, Masso dropped a 7-6, 2-6, 2-6 decision to Norberg while Rosenfeld suffered a 6-2, 6-7 (8-6), 1-0 (10-2) loss to Dabush at No. 2 singles.

"Everyone competed up and down our lineup today, and our doubles play was very solid. Getting that point got us off to a good start," said Heckley. "With Andrew's injury, everyone stepped up, especially Brian and Aaron. This is a great team win for us."

The Seahawks return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Gordon for a 3:30 p.m. match. The Chargers (3-7, 1-2 TCCC) host Wentworth Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.