NEW LONDON, Conn. – In nail-biting fashion, the Regis College men's tennis team was able to squeak past host Mitchell College, 5-4 in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) matchup on Monday afternoon. Seniors Sophorn Nop (Lowell, Mass.) and Mouhamed Diallo (Boston, Mass.) recorded wins in doubles and singles play to secure the win for the Pride.

With the match tied at 4-4, Diallo earned the deciding point with a hard-fought win at No. 5 singles over Mitchell junior Randy Coons (Yonkers, N.Y.). Diallo won the first set 7-6 (7-2) in a tiebreaker before cementing the win by a 7-5 final in the second set.

The day featured several close matches and three singles sets that were decided with tiebreakers. With the victory, Regis (7-8 overall) remained undefeated in NECC play at 7-0. Mitchell (4-5 overall) dropped to 3-4 in league action.

The match began with Regis capturing points at both No. 2 and 3 doubles. The duo of Andy White (Bozeman, Mont.) and Austin Nace (Sarasota, Fla.) earned an 8-3 win at No. 2 while Diallo teamed with Nop to post an 8-2 victory at No. 3. Mitchell's lone point came courtesy of an 8-6 win at the top spot by junior Zachary Simmons (Coventry, Conn.) and freshman Graham Cavanaugh (Redding, Conn.).

Mitchell tied the match at 3-3 following the completion of the top three singles matches. Simmons dropped only one game to Jeff Parrish (Framingham, Mass.) at No. 2 while Cavanaugh carried over momentum from a first-set tiebreaker win to get past White at No. 3.

Regis took the point at the No. 1 spot in a match between Michael Beluch (Lynn, Mass.) and Rocco Devona (Waterford, Conn.). With Devona seemingly in control 4-1 in the first set, Beluch ripped off 11 straight games to win the match in straight sets.

The teams split wins at No. 4 and 6 singles to set the stage for the deciding point. Nop topped Timothy Atkinson (Fall River, Mass.) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) at No. 4, while Mitchell sophomore Chris McKeon (North Scituate, R.I.) defeated Nace 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6.

Mitchell will next host Becker College on Wednesday, April 17 at 3 p.m. Regis returns to action at home against Newbury College on Tuesday, April 16 at 4:30 p.m.

Release courtesy of Mitchell Sports Information