Stowe, VT - The Vermont State University Lyndon men's tennis team played several very competitive flights in their Empire 8 East Division matchup against Thomas on Saturday afternoon.  Unfortunately for the Hornets, the Terriers were able to come away with wins across the board to pickup a 9-0 conference victory and improve their overall record to 5-3 and their conference mark to 2-0.  Lyndon fell to 2-3 on the season and 0-1 in the E8.

Thomas took control of the match by sweeping the three doubles flights.  Camden Herrick and Dominic Clifford got things started with an 8-1 win over Wesley McIntyre (Troy, NY) and Stephen Wutzl (Brookfield, CT) at number two.  At first doubles, Gabriel McPhail and Sebastian Soto broke open a tight match to win 8-4 over Jeffrey Blais (Newport, VT) and David Gratton (Newport, VT).  Nick Magiera and Harrison Withee closed out doubles play with an 8-1 win over Gilbert Flores (Winsted, CT) and James Salvas (Morrisville, VT) at number three.

The Hornets put up a fight in singles but were unable to break through.  After Herrick downed McIntyre, 6-1, 6-0, at three, the Terriers only needed one more win to clinch the match.  Soto provided that with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Gratton at number two.  The first singles showdown between McPhail and Blais was the best match of the day, with McPhail prevailing, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

With the match decided, the final three singles flights were played in eight game pro set format.  Clifford blitzed Wutzl, 8-0, at four.  flores jumped out to a 5-2 lead over Calvin Cutler in their fifth singles matchup, but Cutler rallied for the 8-6 victory.  Casey Duncan wrapped things up with an 8-2 win over Salvas at sixth singles.

The Hornets will return to the courts on Sunday afternoon when they host the State University of New York at Delhi in another pivotal Empire 8 East matchup.  That match will be played at the Saint Johnsbury Academy Fieldhouse in St, Johnsbury, VT, and will begin at approximately 4:00 pm.