Skyhawks Finish Second at Stonehill Invitational


Freshman Thomas Alaimo reached two finals on Sunday, combining to win the doubles championship while earning a runner-up finish at No. 3 singles.

Armstrong and Alaimo win doubles championship
Nichols wins team title behind the strength of three individual flight winners

EASTON, Mass. (October 9, 2011) – The Stonehill College men's tennis team, ranked tenth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Regional rankings, posted a second place finish at its Stonehill Invitational held at Charles Watt Tennis Courts Saturday and Sunday.

Nichols won the team title with 21 points, edging Stonehill (20 points) by a single point as it won three singles flight championships on Sunday. Seniors Steve Carella (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) and Arsen Gasparyan (Miami, Fla./European University) and freshman Brandon Roode (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) led the way for the Bison by taking titles at No. 3, 4 and 2 singles, respectively. UMass Dartmouth junior Karsten Rathlev (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) won the top flight singles championship with a 7-5, 0-6, 13-11 triumph over Stonehill freshman Eric Ringstad (Fairbanks, Alaska/Monroe Catholic) on Sunday.


Sophomore Brett Armstrong teamed up with Alaimo to win the doubles title.

Sophomore Brett Armstrong (Manville, R.I./Mount Saint Charles Academy) and freshman Thomas Alaimo (North Andover, Mass./Central Catholic) led Stonehill by winning the doubles championship at the event after a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Roger Williams College junior Jason Pacino (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) and sophomore Taylor Webster (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Webster).

The Stonehill tandem reached Sunday's final with a pair of wins on Saturday, first defeating Isiah Prosper and Paul Healy from Nichols, 8-6, in the quarterfinals and then topping UMass Dartmouth's Matt Bejtlich and Brian Lui in the semifinals.

Alaimo also reached the No. 3 flight championship before falling to Carella, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. He opened with an 8-3 win over Salve Regina University's Brian Castrichini on Saturday, before topping Bridgewater State University's Nicholas Desisto 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinal.

Ringstad reached the top flight singles final by defeating Aaron Isch of Salve Regina, 8-1, and then posting a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mike Zagame from Bridgewater State.

Junior Chris Martin (Darien, Conn./Darien) reached the No. 2 singles final before he was topped by Roode, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) on Sunday morning. Martin opened the bracket with an 8-6 win over UMass Dartmouth's Guil Cotte in the quarters before posting a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win over Kevin Erikson from Roger Williams in the semifinals on Saturday.

Stonehill freshmen Jared Drzal (West Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) and Jonathan Sanders (Holbrook, N.Y./St. Anthony's) won the doubles consolation bracket on Sunday with a 9-8 (7-5) decision over Prosper and Healy.

Rounding out the team standings at the event were UMass Dartmouth and Roger Williams tied for third with ten points each, Salve Regina (3 pts) in fifth and Bridgewater State (2) in sixth.

Stonehill (3-0, 3-0 NE-10) closes out its fall schedule on Wednesday when it hosts Clark University for a non-conference matchup at 4 p.m.