WORCESTER, Mass. – In perhaps their toughest match of the 2019 season, men's tennis dropped a heartbreaker to a tough Clark University squad as the Beacons fell by the final of 5-4 Thursday afternoon at Corash Tennis Courts.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 4, Clark University 5
UMass Boston (10-5)
Clark University (10-11)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In their final non-conference match of the 2019 campaign Thursday's contest came down to the wire as the host Cougars edged out the Beacons thanks to a win at fifth singles.
Clark held the 2-1 advantage after doubles with the lone Beacons win going to Nandish Shah (Ahmedabad, India) and Miguel Beltran (Ashland, Mass.). The duo earned a dominant 8-0 at first flight to get the Beacons on the scoreboard.
In singles play, the Beacons turned the table on the Cougars as they jumped out a 3-2 lead with a first singles win by Shah and a sixth singles win by Onkgopotse Mokoka (Pretoria, South Africa). Mokoka earned the win in convincing fashion as he registered a pair of 6-2 wins.
Clark would then tie the match at 3-3 with a win at fourth flight, before taking the lead for the second time thanks to a third flight win. UMB evened the score at 4-4 with a hard-fought win at second flight by Beltran. After falling in the first set 6-4, Beltran earned a 6-4, 6-1 victory to tie the match at 4-all.
The Cougars win at the fifth flight was a marathon match, with Clark's Jacob Malicky earning the 2-6, 7-6 (12-10), 6-2 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Thursday's match marked the first between the Beacons and Clark since the 2001 season
- All-time the Cougars are now 6-2 against the Beacons dating back to 1991
- Since 1995 the two teams now have a pair of wins against the other
- The loss ended the Beacons five-match win-streak, but proved to be a tremendous test for UMB with only one match left in the regular season
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will travel to Rhode Island College on Saturday for a 1 p.m. conference match. A win would earn the Beacons the LEC regular season title outright and the top-seed in next week's tournament.
