WESTON, Mass. – After putting together a five-match winning streak during the fall, the Regis College men's tennis team returns to the court with a 14-match slate in March and April, including five Great Northeast Athletic Conference matches leading up to the GNAC Tournament at the end of the season.
Among Regis's five victories in the fall was a close 5-4 win over Division II school Saint Michael's, as well as shutout victories over Salve Regina and Wentworth as well as 7-2 decisions over Gordon and UMass Boston. The Pride enjoyed five home contests last fall, but will play their first 10 spring matches away from home before closing the regular season schedule with four consecutive matches at the Regis Tennis Center.
In the fall, Cam Charbonneau (Guilford, Conn.) posted the team's best singles record at 6-1, splitting time between the fourth and fifth positions. Johnny Pallotta (Bay Shore, N.Y.) won all three of his matches at third singles as he went 5-2, while Nolan Bebarta (Danville, Calif.) completed the fall with a 4-2 singles record.
The Pride won two-thirds of their doubles matches in the fall, led by Bebarta and Pallotta with a 3-1 record as a doubles pairing. Sebastian Torres (San Juan, Puerto Rico) went 5-2 in doubles during his first experience in collegiate tennis.
The men's tennis team, as well as the women's tennis squad, will begin its spring schedule during Spring Break March 4-8 in the Orlando, Fla., area, facing Cedarville, Penn State-Berks, King's (Pa.), Concordia-Moorhead, and Piedmont. After non-conference matches at Roger Williams and Clark, the Pride men will begin conference play at Eastern Nazarene March 23.
The team's final road GNAC contest takes place April 6 at Johnson & Wales, and then the Pride complete the regular season with home matches against Suffolk (April 9), Colby-Sawyer (April 13), UMass Dartmouth (April 16), and Norwich (April 18). Meanwhile, the women are scheduled to play four straight home matches during the spring against Emerson (March 22), Wentworth (March 27), Salve Regina (March 29), and UMass Boston (April 7), with the Emerson match designated as Senior Day to honor senior Katasha Jarvis (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.).
In the GNAC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll, Regis was picked to finish second in the North Division with 41 points, just ahead of league newcomer Colby-Sawyer, the seven-time North Atlantic Conference champion, with 40 points. Eastern Nazarene was the unanimous choice to win the North Division, while Ramapo received all 10 first place votes to lead the South Division.
The top two teams in each division will qualify for the GNAC Men's Tennis Tournament, with the division winners hosting their respective second-place teams in the semifinals April 27. The highest remaining seed from the North Division will host the championship match May 4.