Top-seeded Bulldogs advance to NEC Final with 4-0 win over Seahawks Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With a 4-0 win over fifth-seeded Wagner in the Northeast Conference Semifinals on Saturday, the top-seeded Bryant University men's tennis team earns the right to play for the Northeast Conference Championship, Sunday afternoon in West Windsor, N.J.

For the third-straight season, the Bulldogs will play second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson to determine the 2015 NEC Champ, Sunday at 1 p.m. The Knights, who won the 2013 NEC Title, defeated #3 Saint Francis U., 4-0, Saturday in the semifinal round.

On Saturday, the Black and Gold looked sharp from the get-go, securing the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead over the Seahawks. In No. 3 doubles, sophomore Oliver Welsh (San Diego, Calif.) and freshman Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took down Allen Wang and Jakob Mostyn-Kolb, 8-3, before the senior duo of Ernesto Arguello (Managua, Nicaragua) and Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.) secured the point with an 8-5 win in the No. 2 spot.

In singles, the bottom half of the Bryant lineup was nearly perfect, with 4-6 singles securing the win. In the No. 4 spot, Welsh completed the perfect 2-0 day with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Wang with junior Max Vogt (Fair Oaks, Calif.) knocking off Charlton Boyd, 6-0, 6-2, in the No. 5 position. Freshman Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) rounded out the 4-0 sweep for the Black and Gold, taking down Mostyn-Koln, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6 singles.

The defending NEC Champs will look to complete their quest to repeat on Sunday when they battle second-seeded FDU at 1 p.m. in West Windsor.