The Le Moyne men’s tennis team opened their spring season with a tough match against conference powerhouse, Saint Michael’s College. Le Moyne fell 9-0 at Tarrant Recreation Center in Colchester, Vt. on Friday, night Feb. 22 .

Junior captain Alessandro Nieves paired up with sophomore Shane Evans at first doubles. The two fell just short of the victory, losing 6-8. Second doubles lost 1-8 and the freshman pairing of Blaine Drake and Tyler Shaban lost 4-8.

The Dolphins hit some bumps in the road in singles. Junior Daryl Johnson won his first set 7-5 but his match was stopped. The top four positions lost their matches in straight sets. Robert Brooks was set to play the sixth position but never made it on court.

“Friday’s match was not what we expected,” said Nieves. “The court surface was not the traditional hard court surface and the ball was much faster, which was something we as a team were completely unaccustomed to. Excuses aside we fought hard for the most part until we were down 5-0 and had lost the match. When St. Mikes won their fifth point, our coach decided to retire and default the rest of the matches to deter any chances of injury for the Sunday match.”

Ultimately, Coach Mark Dolan was smart to end early and give his players some rest, because they came out strong on Sunday. The men captured an 8-1 victory on Sunday, Feb. 24 over Daemen College.

Just like the women’s team, which played before them, the men swept their doubles. Nieves and Evans once again teamed up at first doubles and won 8-3. Graduate student Michael Green and Johnson won 8-6 at second doubles. The third doubles pairing of Drake and Shaban remained the same and they snagged the third doubles point winning 8-5.

Nieves topped the singles victories at second singles winning 6-0, 6-3. Green played a close first set at third singles, but steamrolled through the second set winning his match 7-5, 6-0. Johnson easily grabbed his second win of the season at fourth singles winning both sets with a score of 6-1. Drake went the distance at fifth singles, ultimately winning his match 7-6, 8-6, 6-2. Finishing off the singles victories was senior Robert Brooks who walked away with a win after dropping only one game.

This match marked the men’s team’s first win of the season and the future looks bright.

“Yesterday was a great match and both teams competed hard,” said Nieves. “We are glad we can start the semester off with a strong win and we plan on more success this semester. A lot of guys lower in the lineup stepped up and won their matches which took a lot of pressure off some of us higher guys. Earlier this year we struggled due to the changing of coaches, lack of recruitment, and lack of chemistry on the court.  Thankfully we have been working well and plan on getting some more wins this semester.”

The men will return to action Saturday, March 23 against Roberts Wesleyan College at 12:00 p.m.