Bulldogs open NEC play with 5-2 win over Knights on Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University men's tennis found their first Northeast Conference win of the 2016 season, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 5-2, in the Bulldogs' home opener on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (6-9, 1-0 NEC) swept in doubles play, as the Bryant pair of sophomore Nick Lamart (Raleigh, N.C.) and freshman Michael Plutt (Weston, Fla.) beat their adversaries, 6-4, while the twosome of senior Max Vogt (Fair Oaks, Calif.) and sophomore Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) defeated their opposition by the same margin. In the No. 3 doubles slot, sophomores Josh Kliger (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) moved past the Knights' (3-9, 1-1) Pedro Carvalho and Diogo Garnel, 6-1.

Vogt forced the No. 1 singles match into three games after winning the first, but Jake Whalley came up with the victory, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, for FDU's first point of the day. After losing the first set, 2-6, junior Oliver Welsh (San Diego, Calif.) defeated Adam Chan, 7-5, 7-6, and 7-4, in the tiebreaker. Plutt helped the Bulldogs to another point, taking down Garnel, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), in No. 4 singles. Freshman Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, Texas) and Ortiz-Garcia rounded out Bryant's scoring, winning big over their competitors in the final two singles matches. 

"It was a solid effort, but we still have some work to do moving forward," said head coach Ron Gendron. "Overall it was a good win against a very resilient FDU team."