MIT continues stronghold on NEWMAC with ninth regular season title

April 21, 2007

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entered Saturday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's tennis regular season finale unbeaten through four matches, and the visiting Engineers made it a perfect five for five with a 6-3 victory and ninth consecutive regular season conference championship in the NEWMAC's nine-year history at Clark Tennis Courts.

Wheaton, which is ranked 12th in the region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), finished as the conference's runner up at 4-1. The Lyons fell to 10-4 overall. Ranked ninth in the latest ITA regional poll, MIT improved to 11-5 and 5-0. Both teams earned byes in Thursday's opening round of the NEWMAC Tournament.

Wheaton was swept in doubles play before splitting six singles matches, including three three-set victories. Senior Payum Payman (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) highlighted play for the Lyons, as he overcame a 6-3 loss in the opening set to nationally-ranked senior Thomas Dohlman (Wellesley, MA/Wellesley) before winning 7-6 in the second set and 10-8 in the super tiebreaker. Dohlman was ranked 12th in the country and third in the Northeast.

Also capturing three-set triumphs were senior Brad Dressler (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) and freshman Kyle Hudgins (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) in the third and sixth positions, respectively. Dressler bounced back from a 6-4 first-set loss with the same score in the second set in his favor and a 10-8 outcome in the tiebreaker. Dressler is now an unblemished 14-0 this spring. Hudgins also dropped his first set by a 7-5 count before blanking his opponent in the second set and rounding out the win with a 10-5 decision in the final set.

MIT junior Eric Beren (Dallas, TX/Lake Highlands) earned a 6-4, 6-0 victory in the second spot, senior Melvin Makhni (Fort Pierce, FL/Saint Edward's School) picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win at number four and graduate student Said Francis (Jounieh, Lebanon/Lycee Nahr-Ibrahim) won 7-6, 6-0 in the fifth slot.

During doubles play, Beren and Dohlman knocked off Dressler and Payman, 8-4 in the top position, while sophomores David Iba (Lexington, MA/Lexington) and Peden Nichols (Great Falls, VA/Thomas Jefferson) recorded an 8-5 triumph in the second slot. Francis and Makhni completed the sweep with an 8-3 decision at three.

The Lyons advance to Saturday's semifinal round at MIT, where they will face the winner of Thursday's match between third seed Springfield College and sixth seed United States Coast Guard Academy at 10:30 a.m.

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