Boston, MA - The Vermont State University Lyndon tennis team picked up two victories over Lesley University on Friday afternoon, taking an Empire 8 Conference win to keep their playoff hopes alive, then following that up with a non-conference victory. With the sweep, Lyndon improved to 6-4 overall and evened their E8 mark at 2-2. Lesley remained winless in nine matches, including four conference contests.
Match 1 - VTSU Lyndon 8, Lesley 1
The Hornets took two of three doubles flights to jump in front. The first doubles team of Jeffrey Blais (Newport, VT) and David Gratton (Newport, VT) defeated Lesley's Thomas Nicol and DJ Cronin, 8-4, while the second doubles pairing of Stephen Wutzl (Brookfield, CT) and Wesley McIntyre (Troy, NY) swept Bennett Locke and James Ontivaros, 8-0. Lesley got on the board with a win at third doubles when Miles Brajdic and Kai Burridge edged Glibert Flores (Winsted, CT) and James Salvas (Morrisville, VT), 8-6.
Lyndon erased any doubt about the outcome with a dominant sweep of the six singles flights. Blais was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Nicol at first singles and McIntyre whitewashed Locke, 6-0, 6-0 at three. Gratton and Flores only lost one game each in posting straight set wins over Brajdic and Ontivaros at two and five respectively. Salvas cruised past Burridge, 6-3, 6-1 at six. In the most competitive flight of the match, Wutzl went three sets to defeat Cronin, 6-4, 6-7 (8-6), 6-2 at third singles.
Match 2 - VTSU Lyndon 9, Lesley 0
Both teams shuffled their lineups for the non-conference match. This time Lyndon swept all three doubles flights, with Blais and McIntyre posting an 8-3 win over Cronin and Nichol at first doubles. Gratton and Flores downed Brajdic and Locke and Wutzl and Salvas defeated Burridge and Ontivaros in second and third doubles respectively, both by 8-2 margins.
The Hornets completed the shutout by sweeping all six singles flights. Blais picked up a hard fought 6-4, 7-6 (13-11) win over Nichol at one. Gratton, McIntyre, and Wutzl cruised to straight set wins over Brajdic, Locke, and Cronin at two, three, and four respectively. Flores battled through a tough first set for a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 win over Ontivaros at five. Salvas battled back for a 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-3) win over Burridge at six.
The Hornet return home to host Norwich University on Saturday morning at 11:00 am at Topnotch Tennis Center. The Hornets can earn an Empire 8 playoff berth with a 9-0 or 8-1 win over the Cadets if Thoms College defeats the State University of New York at Delhi on Saturday. If Delhi defeats Thomas, the Hornets will qualify for the playoffs by defeating Norwich, regardless of the score.
