Beacons win four of six singles to take 5-4 decision
NEWPORT, R.I. - Freshman Jae Park (Millsboro, Del.) and sophomore Jack Wang (Suzhou, China) clinched singles victories within seconds of each other, to lift UMass Boston men's tennis (1-0) to a 5-4 season-opening victory over Salve Regina University (0-2) Sunday afternoon at the Leroy Avenue courts.
After falling behind 2-1 after doubles action, the Beacons swept the top-four singles matches Sunday afternoon to lead the Beacons to a win in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Freshman Edward Martinez (Boston, Mass.) and Park each finished 2-0 in the victory. Park and senior Vlad Leopard (Carnikava, Latvia) each made their collegiate debuts with the Beacons, while Martinez and sophomore Wyatt Towle (Woburn, Mass.) made their dual match debuts, after participating in the Eastern Nazarene College Invitational last Saturday.
Salve Regina got off to a to a strong start in its home opener, as the Seahawks grabbed two of the three doubles points.
Monaf Awwa (Old Lyme, Conn.) finished 2-0 for the Seahawks, as he and Matt Gingras (Wethersfield, Conn.) opened the day with an 8-0 victory over Leopard and Towle to give Salve Regina a 1-0 lead.
UMass Boston countered with an 8-4 victory at second doubles, as Martinez and Park teamed up for a win over Matthew Carroll (Hacknsack, N.J.) and Kevin Brocks (West Sand Lake, N.Y.).
In a back-and-forth match, Salve Regina's Donovan Gangewere (Exton, Pa.) and Jack Lawlor (York, Maine) held off Charles Lai (Boston, Mass.) and Wang 8-5 at number one doubles.
The momentum wouldn't carry over for the Seahawks though, as UMass Boston won four of the final six available points.
Martinez evened the match up at 2-2 when he breezed to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Gangewere at number two singles.
UMass Boston took its first lead of the match at 3-2 with a win at number one singles, as Lai dominated Lawlor 6-0, 6-0.
Salve Regina answered back with back-to-back victories, to push its lead to 4-3.
Will Masse (Wyoming, R.I.) downed Leopard 6-0, 6-0 at sixth singles, while Awwa knocked off Towle 6-1, 6-0 at fifth singles, to put all the pressure on Park and Wang.
Park tied the match up for a fourth and final time, when he held off Brocks 6-3, 7-6 with a 7-2 victory in the second-set tiebreaker.
In the final and deciding match of the day, Wang, one of two returners on the Beacons' roster, grinded out a 6-4, 6-2 win at number three singles to lift UMass Boston to a hard-fought 5-4 win.
Salve Regina travels to Worcester, Mass., on Monday to face Clark University in a match re-scheduled from earlier this month. UMass Boston will have a select group of players to Middlebury College this weekend to compete in the ITA/New England Regional Championship starting Friday.
