Men's Tennis Clinches Playoff Spot in Dramatic Fashion

BEVERLY, Mass. — Wentworth junior Dylan Melnik (Wake Forest, N.C.) overcame a one-set deficit at fifth singles to decide a 5-4 match in favor of the Leopards on Wednesday at Bass River Tennis Club. Melnik rallied past Gordon junior Dan Christensen (Attleboro, Mass.) to help his team clinch the sixth and final spot in the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs beginning on Saturday.

With the win the Leopards improve to 4-7 overall and complete conference play with a 3-5 record. Wentworth will be seeded sixth and will travel to the number three seed for an opening round match on Saturday. The Fighting Scots end their season with a 2-6 conference record and 7-13 overall.
 
With the final conference playoff spot on the line, the match between the Fighting Scots and Leopards did not disappoint. Wentworth's Nate Schwartz (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Josh Dowd (Bristol, Conn.) got the Leopards on the board first with a convincing 8-4 win at second doubles.
 
The Fighting Scots answered only a few minutes later with an impressive showing at third doubles. Daniel Dufoe (Malvern, Pa.) and Richie Armand (Hempstead, N.Y.) won six of the final seven games in the match to pull out an 8-3 triumph. Gordon's top duo of Kenny Gaudio (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Zach Hall (Sugar Land, Texas) swung the match in the Scots' favor when they survived a scare from the Leopards, 9-8 (8-6).
 
Hall pushed Gordon's blossoming lead to two matches with a straight-set victory at first singles, 6-2, 6-0. Hall ends the season with the second best record in the CCC for individual performance.
 
Wentworth's Zach Peter (Preston, Conn.) staved off Daniel Alvarado (Bedford, N.H.) in the first set, winning closely in a tiebreaker. Peter took control of the second set and grabbed the Leopards' second point of the day—7-6, 6-2 at sixth singles.
 
The Leopards took two of the next three matches to be decided, winning at second and third singles with straight-set victories. Richie Armand brought the Fighting Scots within a point of the playoffs with a 6-3, 6-2 win at fourth singles.
 
A tightly contested match came down to a fifth singles match where neither opponent was willing to give an inch. Christensen looked to be in control early, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the first set before winning 6-4.
 
Melnik rebounded in the second set, taking a familiar 5-2 lead over the Gordon junior. However, Christensen fought back to force a tiebreak situation in the set. Christensen held two match points in tiebreak, but Melnik fended off each one and sent the match to a final set. There, Melnik was able to outlast Christensen 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 to send the Leopards to the postseason.

(Recap courtesy of Gordon Sports Information)

Wentworth 5, Gordon 4

 Singles competition
1. Zach Hall (GC-M) def. James Drum (WIT) 6-2, 6-0
2. Matthew Smith (WIT) def. Kenny Gaudio (GC-M) 6-3, 6-4
3. Nate Schwartz (WIT) def. Joe Daugherty (GC-M) 6-0, 6-4
4. Richie Armand (GC-M) def. Seng Ly (WIT) 6-3, 6-2
5. Dylan Melnik (WIT) def. Dan Christensen (GC-M) 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2
6. Zach Peter (WIT) def. Daniel Alvarado (GC-M) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2

 Doubles competition
1. Kenny Gaudio/Zach Hall (GC-M) def. James Drum/Matthew Smith (WIT) 9-8 (8-6)
2. Nate Schwartz/Josh Dowd (WIT) def. Dan Christensen/Joe Daugherty (GC-M) 8-4
3. Richie Armand/Daniel Dufoe (GC-M) def. Gaurav Tilva/Mike Withington (WIT) 8-3

Match Notes:
Gordon 7-13, 2-6 CCC
Wentworth 4-7, 3-5 CCC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (16,4,3,2,5)
T-4:17  A-30