DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Curry College's quick 3-0 start in doubles held through singles, as the visiting Colonels defeated the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 7-2 in Thursday's non-conference tilt at the UMass Dartmouth tennis courts.
The Basics
Score: Curry 7, UMass Dartmouth 2
Records: Curry (6-9) | UMass Dartmouth (4-9)
How it Happened
The Colonels jumped out to a fast start in doubles when the No. 2 combination of Ryan Sullivan (Winnetka, Ill.) and Richie Hefler (Canton, Conn.) quickly dispatched Corsair juniors Justin Torres (Dighton, Mass.) and Patrick Pacheco (Fall River, Mass.) by an 8-1 score. At No. 3, Ben Higgins (Yarmouth, Maine) and Zach Muller (Methuen, Mass.) downed senior Summer Forest-Bulley (Turners Falls, Mass.) and junior Zach Pavao (Somerset, Mass.) 8-3 before the top combination of senior Corey Rafter (Franklin, Mass.) and sophomore Anthony Joseph (Fairhaven, Mass.) fell 8-2 to Curry's Aidan Roach (Norwell, Mass.) and Dawson Stento (Wellesley Hills, Mass.).
After Higgins claimed a 6-2, 6-1 victory to start singles at No. 6 over UMass Dartmouth freshman Mark Desmond (Braintree, Mass.), the Corsairs earned their first point at No. 5 with Pavao's 6-1, 6-4 win over Muller. Roach then took the top flight over Rafter, 6-0, 6-1, for the deciding point of the match.
Forest-Bulley pulled out the Corsairs' other point at No. 4, downing Hefler with a pair of 6-3 sets, but Curry secured the final two flights with Stento's 6-3, 6-1 finish over Torres and Sullivan's 6-0, 6-3 score over Joseph.
Inside the Numbers
Pavao extends his singles win streak to four matches with the victory, while Forest-Bulley rises to a team-best 7-3 in singles matches on the spring.
Curry avenges last season's 8-1 loss to the Corsairs with the victory.
Up Next
UMass Dartmouth will celebrate 50 years of men's tennis on Saturday, as the Corsairs host Southern Maine in Little East Conference competition at 1 p.m. Curry returns home to face Eastern Nazarene on Saturday at noon.
(Game Recap Courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information)
