Worcester, Mass. – Host Clark University won five of the six singles matches en route to a 6-3 win over Wheaton College in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's tennis action on Saturday afternoon.
The win for the Cougars is their first ever over their league rival in a series that dates back to 1999 and the start of the NEWMAC era.
Clark improves to 11-2 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Lyons have slipped to 3-4 and 0-3 in conference play.
Wheaton went into the singles matches ahead 2-1, after winning at No. 1 behind Neall Oliver and Ned Terrance's 8-2 win over Diego Angel (Lima, Peru) and Zack Goodstein (Columbus, Ohio). The Lyons also won at No. 2 when Daniel Sharon and Lawrence Chan took down Dan Stein (Newton, Mass.) and Josh Burger (Fairfield, Conn.), 8-5.
The Cougars lone doubles win came at No. 3, as Dan Hall (Sutton, Mass.) and Phillip Porter (Cortland Manor, N.Y.) defeated Kyle Kiernan and Sam Jackson, 8-1.
Clark was able to bounce back during singles play as Stein (6-3, 6-0) at No. 2, Burger (6-3, 6-4) at No. 4, Dan Paradee (Gardiner, Maine) (6-3, 6-1) at No. 5 and Joel Simonson (Waterford, Conn.) (6-2, 6-0) at No. 6 all won with relative ease.
Angel and Oliver were locked in a battle at No. 1 singles, where Oliver won the first set 6-4, before Angel rallied to win the second set, 6-3. Angel then outlasted Oliver in the third, 10-4.
Wheaton's lone singles win came at No. 3, where Daniel Sharon topped Goodstein, 6-2, 7-6.
Clark will embark on a busy stretch next week when they host Johnson & Wales (Wednesday), Anna Maria (Thursday) and Babson (Saturday).
