Men’s Tennis Opens Fall Season with 8-1 Win over UMass Dartmouth

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 1, 2019) – The Western New England University men's tennis team opened the fall portion of its 2019-20 campaign with an 8-1 victory over UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon at the Volvo Courts.

The Golden Bears held a 2-1 lead after doubles play with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Seniors David Kalmer (Slingerland, N.Y.) and Luke Surawski (Wethersfield, Conn.) teamed up for an 8-2 victory over Noah Dubitzky and Tristin Viale at the top doubles flight, while senior Griffin Arnold (Meriden, Conn.) and freshman Sebastian Smreczak (Auburn, Mass.) bested Kyle Noseworthy and Mark Desmond 8-4 at No. 3.

UMass Dartmouth's lone point of the match came via Baylen Harper and Eli Brooks' 8-6 win over juniors Max Gordon (Middleton, Mass.) and Matt Russell (Auburn, Mass.) at No. 2 doubles.

The Golden Bears completed their season-opening triumph with a clean sweep of the six singles matchups.

Kalmer topped Dubitzky 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1, and Surawski earned a 6-1, 6-4 result over Viale at No. 2. In the No. 3 spot, Gordon beat Brooks 6-1, 6-3, while Arnold edged Harper 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4.

The Corsairs nearly added another point to their total at No. 5 singles, as Noseworthy took the opening set (6-3) against Russell, but the junior rebounded with 6-1 and 6-3 results in the second and third sets to earn the comeback win.

In the final singles matchup, Smreczak cruised past Sean Nutter 6-1, 6-0.