By Alex Solari, Staff Writer
On Tuesday, March 21, the Corsairs faced Salve Regina at home, and found their first victory at this match. All six Corsairs picked up at least one win between the singles and doubles flights on the afternoon.
In the doubles competition, UMass Dartmouth started with an early lead, and won two of the three pairings. Senior Corey Rafter of Franklin, Mass., and sophomore Anthony Joseph of Fairhaven, Mass., notched the decisive victory at the top flight with an 8-3 final.
The No. 3 combination of senior Summer Forest-Bulley of Turners Falls, Mass., and junior Zach Pavao of Somerset, Mass., gave the Corsairs an 8-2 win. The Corsairs dropped only No. 2 doubles after the Seahawks pairing of Aaron White of Falmouth, Mass., and Will Masse of Wyoming, R.I., came to defeat Pacheco and Justin Torres of Dighton, Mass., with a score of 8-5.
UMass Dartmouth defeated Salve Regina in singles, dropping just one decision. Joseph and Pacheco both won tough battles in the No. 2 and No. 3 flights, respectively, to leave no hope for a Salve Regina comeback.
Joseph defeated Kevin Brocks of Albany, N.Y., by scores of 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. Pacheco rallied after a 0-6 first set for a 6-3 score in the second 7-5 margin in the third over DJ Bisaillon of Watertown, Conn.
Forest-Bulley and Pavao triumphed in their matches in No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Both matches finished with the same score of 6-2, 6-1. Torres had a tightly contested match, eventually winning the point 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 over Alessio Ayuninjam of Tiverton, R.I. The Corsairs ended the match with a 7-2 win.
On Thursday, March 30, the Corsairs faced the Johnson and Wales Wildcats at Rhode Island College, and were unable to claim a second win. The Wildcats started with an early lead, winning the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles with a score of 8-2. They claimed the No. 3 doubles as well, putting the Corsairs behind with a score of 8-3.
The Wildcats kept their lead in the single matches. Andre Barbero of Brielle, N.J., defeated Corey Rafter 6-0, 6-1, and Nicholas Auffret of Holtsville, N.Y., won the match against Anthony Joseph with a score of 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. Ryan Schiele of Lusby, M.D., took No. 4 singles with a 6-0, 6-3 over UMass Dartmouth junior Justin Torres of Dighton, Mass. Freshman Mark Desmond of Braintree, Mass., dropped a 6-1, 6-1 decision to Jack Hopkins of Hamilton, Mass., at No. 6 singles.
In the final two matchups, the Corsairs stood their ground, with Patrick Pacheco of Fall River, Mass., and Forest-Bulley earning hard-fought points.
Pacheco took his first set 7-5 against Taylor Farmer of Carmel, Ind., and sealed the No. 3 match with a 6-4 second set. Forest-Bulley prevailed 6-4 with Tyler Dupee of Middletown, N.Y., and battled to the 7-5 final set to secure No. 5 singles. Despite the team’s efforts, the Corsairs lost to the Wildcats with a final score of 7-2.
Next up, the Corsairs men’s tennis team will be facing UMass Boston on Sunday, April 2, Roger Williams College on Monday, April 3, Lesley College on Thursday, April 6, and Wheelock College on Saturday, April 8.