Men's Tennis Falls to Salem State in Little East Semifinals, 5-3

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Second-seeded Salem State University posted a 5-3 victory over #3 seed Bridgewater State University in the semifinal round of the 2022 Little East Conference (LEC) Men's Tennis Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Salem's Central Campus Courts.

The host Vikings improve to 8-5 on the season and advance to the tournament championship match. Salem will travel to UMass Boston on Saturday to take on the top-seeded Beacons at noon. The visiting Bears end the season with an overall record of 10-5.

The Bears took two-of-three doubles matches to gain early momentum. Senior Sean Nutter (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and junior Charles Fiske (Taunton, Mass.) teamed up for an 8-6 win at second doubles, while seniors Kendan Ziegler (Hadley, N.Y.) and Darius Desnoes (Ithaca, N.Y.) paired up for an 8-4 decision at number three.

Graduate student Andrew Muttiah (Colombo, Sri Lanka) and junior Cory Cherico (Winthrop, Mass.) salvaged the lone doubles point for the Vikings with an 8-2 victory at the topflight.

Muttiah evened the match with a quick, 6-0, 6-0 straight set triumph at first singles, and senor Roni Bazile (Brockton, Mass.) gave the hosts their first lead with a 6-3, 6-4 win at the second flight. Ziegler knotted the score for Bridgewater State as he battled back from a set down to post a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 decision at number three.

Freshman Adam Stanneck (Washington, N.J.) earned a 6-3, 7-5 victory at sixth singles to put the Vikings up 4-3.  Cherico then recorded the decisive fifth point for Salem State with a tough 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 victory at the fourth flight.

The fifth flight match between Fiske and Viking senior Giacomo Graziani (East Boston, Mass.) was left unfinished. Fiske and Graziani split the first two sets, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).

Notes: The two teams have now met four times in Little East Tournament play, including twice in the semifinals, since the conference changed to the current format in 2009. The Vikings also earned a semifinal round victory in 2010, while the Bears posted a pair of first round wins in 2013 and 2017.