FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 28, 2007

Anchormen Tied for Fifth as Day One Comes to a Close
at Little East Men’s Tennis Championships

Providence, RI—Rhode Island College finished the first day of competition at the 2007 Little East Conference Men’s Tennis Championships tied for fifth place along with UMass Boston and Salem State with four points apiece.

Bridgewater State is currently in first place with 11.0 points. UMass Dartmouth is three points off the pace, while Southern Maine is four behind the Bears.

The three doubles flight champions were determined and opening round action of the six singles flights were completed.

Senior Tauquir Puthawala (Lincoln, RI) and freshman Jawad Sefiani (Pawtucket, RI) were defeated by Bridgewater State senior Matt Kelly (Tiverton, RI) and sophomore Matt Charest (Somerset, MA), 8-1, in opening round action of the No. 1 Doubles Flight. They fell to UMass Dartmouth sophomore Chris Forster (Reading, MA) and senior Josh McCoy (Newburyport, MA), 8-5, in the consolation round.

Senior Barry Manfredi (Westerly, RI) and junior Lorne Teeter (Warwick, RI) were defeated by UMass Dartmouth senior Chris Sims (Chelmsford, MA) and freshman Ken Sims (Chelmsford, MA), 9-8, in opening round action of the No. 2 Doubles Flight. They rebounded to defeat Western Connecticut seniors Colin and Forest Robertson (Newtown, CT), 8-2, and Salem State freshman Eric Goldberg (Saugus, MA) and junior Kyle Watson (Saugus, MA), 8-2, to win the consolation flight.

Juniors Tom Lapierre (Mapleville, RI) and Rolando Yotharath (Woonsocket, RI), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) were defeated by Bridgewater State sophomore Brendon Barbo (Yarmouthport, MA) and junior Barry Gorman (Hopedale, MA) in the finals match at No. 3 doubles. They had defeated UMass Boston sophomore Amit Kumar (Bangalore, India) and freshman C. Albert Thompson (Compton, CA), 8-6, in the first round and UMass Dartmouth junior Eric Dusseault (Taunton, MA) and sophomore Alex Samoiloff (Princeton, MA), 6-3, 7-5, in the semifinals.

Fifth-seeded Manfredi was defeated by fourth-seeded Western Connecticut junior Wayne Tentler (Johannesburg, South Africa), 8-2, in opening round action of the No. 1 Singles Flight.

Sixth-seeded Puthawala was defeated by third-seeded Western Connecticut sophomore Matt Fogel (Westport, CT), 8-4, in opening round action of the No. 2 Singles Flight.

Sixth-seeded sophomore Garrett Smith (Providence, RI) was defeated by third-seeded Colin Robertson of Western Connecticut, 8-1, in opening round action of the No. 3 Singles Flight.

Third-seeded Teeter was defeated by sixth-seeded UMass Boston junior Glen Schleehauf (Milton, MA), 8-1, in opening round action of the No. 4 Singles Flight.

Fourth-seeded Yotharath advanced to the semifinals of the No. 5 Singles Flight with an 8-5 victory over Salem State sophomore Jim Lozzi (Topsfield, MA).

Top-seeded sophomore David Haggerty (Woonsocket, RI) received a bye at No. 6 singles and will see action tomorrow in the semifinals.

The semifinals and finals, as well as consolation action, of the six singles flights will begin tomorrow at 9 a.m.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Bridgewater State (11.0 Points)

2. UMass Dartmouth (8.0 Points)

3. Southern Maine (7.0 Points)

4. Western Connecticut (4.5 Points)

5.  UMass Boston (4.0 Points)

5. Rhode Island College (4.0 Points)

5. Salem State (4.0 Points)

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