PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The top four players in the Beacons lineup all went 2-0 to help UMass Boston men' s tennis (8-8, 5-1 Little East) reach the .500 mark for the first time all season, in a 7-2 win over Rhode Island College (5-8, 2-4 Little East) at the RIC Tennis Courts.
After getting off to an 0-5 start, the defending Little East Champions head into the Little East Conference Tournament as the second seed, thanks to an 8-3 finish to the regular season.
Seniors Sean Cullen (Medway, Mass.), Charles Lai (Boston, Mass.), Eglis Bizhoti (Kucovë, Albania) and Mark Grinhaus (Scarsdale, N.Y.) each went 2-0 on the afternoon, to help UMass Boston earn their fourth-straight win over a Little East opponent.
Grinhaus and Bizhoti opened the match with a statement 8-3 victory, as the senior pair knocked off Tim Holzinger and Brett Taggart at number two doubles.
The Beacons tacked on a second point moments later, as Cullen and Lai earned an identical 8-3 victory at top-flight doubles. With the victory, Lai improved to a perfect 14-0 against LEC competition over the past two seasons in doubles play, after finishing 8-0 last year at number two doubles alongside Alex Loyer ('13).
Rhode Island College cut the deficit to 2-1 at number three doubles, as Seongkyeong Kim and Sean Raudonaitis knocked off Jack Wang (Suzhou, China) and Lyle Analetto (Belmont, Mass.) 8-2.
Cullen pushed the Beacons' lead to 3-1 to start off singles play, as the senior cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Alex Werchadlo at number one singles.
Lai tacked on another point for UMass Boston, as the senior co-captain dominated en-route to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Troy Derrick at number two singles.
UMass Boston clinched the match with a win at number three singles, when Bizhoti evened his singles record at 6-6 with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Raudonaitis earned his second point of the day for the Anchormen at number six singles, when the junior defeated Analetto 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 in a super tiebreak.
The Beacons added to their lead at number five singles, when Wang held off Kim 7-5, 6-1.
Grinhaus closed out the match and the regular season for UMass Boston, when he earned a three-set win at number four singles 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
The Beacons will open Little East Conference Tournament Thursday when they hot the winner of #3 Western Connecticut State University and #6 Bridgewater State University. Thursday's match will be played at Curry College, with the start time set for 3 p.m.
