Men's Tennis Falls to Salem State in Season Finale

SALEM, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's tennis team wrapped up the abbreviated 2021 season with a 6-3 setback to host Salem State University on Saturday afternoon at the Central Campus Courts.

The Vikings improve to 2-1 on the season, while the visiting Bears fall to 0-4.

Salem captured two of three singles matches and four of the six singles flights to earn the win in a tightly contested match.

Senior Roni Bazile (Brockton, Mass.) and graduate student Peter Coletti (Beverly, Mass.) posted an 8-7 victory with a 7-5 tie-breaker at number one doubles, while senior Andrew Muttiah (Colombo, Sri Lanka) and sophomore Cory Cherico (Winthrop, Mass.) recorded an 8-4 decision at the second flight.

The BSU tandem of senior Joshua Bean (Kingston, Mass.) and junior Darius Desnoes (Ithaca, N.Y.) earned the Bears' lone doubles point with an 8-2 triumph at the third flight.

Bean and Desnoes also pick up singles wins for the Bears who led 3-2 in the match. Bean battled to a 7-6 victory in the opening set of the fifth flight match, which was decided by an 8-6 tie-breaker, before posting a 6-1 decision in the second set. Desnoes cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 straight set win at number six.

Coletti picked up a 6-1, 6-0 straight set decision at the second singles flight to knot the score at 3-3. Bazile battled back from a set down to post a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 win at number three to give the Vikings a 4-3 lead. Muttiah secured the decisive fifth point for Salem with a 6-1, 6-2 straight set victory at the top flight.

Cherico won a tough two-tie breakers, three-set match at fourth singles, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (13-11) over BSU junior Colin Lamusta (Lynnfield, Mass.) to round out the scoring.

Notes: Bean was competing in the final match of his career. He earned nine career singles wins for the Bears and eight doubles victories.