Men's Tennis Falls to UMass Dartmouth in Little East Title Match

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- For the third time in four seasons, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's men's tennis team will participate in the NCAA Division III Championships.

The Corsairs earned the LEC's automatic berth into the NCAAs when they defeated visiting Bridgewater State, in the Little East Conference championship match at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Saturday. Per conference rules, the match was terminated when the Corsairs reached five points and clinched the decision.

The Corsairs swept all three doubles matches. Juniors Karsten Rathlev (Winchester, MA) and Guillaume Cotte (Grenoble, France) won at number one doubles, 8-4.  Senior Brennan Dugas (East Falmouth, MA) and sophomore Matt Bejtlich (Rochester, MA) posted an 8-3 decision at number two doubles, while junior Mike Parker (Scituate, MA) and senior Brian Lui (Medfield, MA) teamed for an 8-4 triumph at the third flight.

Dugas made the score 4-0 when he came away with a 6-2, 6-0 straight set win at number four singles.  Cotte then clinched the title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the second flight.

Cotte was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

The Corsairs improved to 13-2 with the victory, while the Bears fell to 9-6 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will find out its first round opponent and venue when the NCAA pairings are released Monday evening. The match was the final action of the season for Bridgewater State.