Wheaton downs Bowdoin in meeting between regional powers

March 28, 2006

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College's first doubles tandem of junior Payum Payman (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) and sophomore Sean Daly (Miami, FL/LaSalle) picked up a dramatic 9-8 victory in a tiebreaker to clinch the Lyons a 4-3 non-conference men's tennis triumph against Bowdoin College on Tuesday. The Lyons, ranked ninth regionally in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, improved to 4-2, while the seventh-ranked Polar Bears slipped to 1-6 on the year.

The match began outdoors on the Clark Tennis Courts, and Bowdoin got out to a quick 3-0 lead with wins at the second, third and sixth singles positions while three matches were still being played. Daly, competing in his first northern match of the season, dropped a tough 6-4, 6-3 decision to junior Sam Bitetti (Norwell, MA/Norwell), while senior Nick Potter (Concord, NH/Concord) lost at number six to junior Andrew McDonald (Chatham, NJ/Delbarton) 7-5, 6-2. Bowdoin freshman Alex White (Boston, MA/Milton) downed Wheaton junior Brian Danishevsky (Hamden, CT/Hamden Hall Country Day) at third singles.

The Lyons got on the board thanks to a 6-4, 6-2 victory by junior Brad Dressler (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) in the fifth position, and senior Matt Sheers (Beacon, NY/Beacon) notched the second point for Wheaton thanks to a 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 win at the fourth slot. Payman then completed the comeback with a tight 7-5, 7-6 win at number one, earning the victory in a second-set tiebreaker, forcing the match to be decided in doubles.

The teams moved indoors to Beard Field House for doubles play. Potter and Sheers corralled an 8-4 victory at third doubles, necessitating the Lyons win one of the two remaining matches to seal the victory. However, Bowdoin's second tandem of White and freshman Alex Caughron (San Marino, CA/Polytechnic) moved past Danishevsky and Dressler, 8-5 and evened the doubles at one apiece.

Daly and Payman opposed Bitetti and sophomore Garrett Gates (Fairway, KS/Shawnee Mission) for the deciding point, and the teams went to a tiebreaker to determine the match's winner. With the score tied at five in the tiebreaker, the Polar Bears committed a costly double fault that gave a match point to Wheaton. Serving with a 6-5 edge, Daly slammed a service winner to clinch the doubles match and overall win.

Wheaton continues a four-match homestand with its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener against Clark University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

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