Men's Tennis Rolls in NE10 Opener at St. Michael’s, 8-1


Bellio claimed wins at No. 1 singles and doubles to lead the Skyhawks to the NE10 win.

Bellio leads Skyhawks with wins at No. 1 singles and doubles

COLCHESTER, Vt. (March 25, 2017) – Stonehill College opened its Northeast-10 Conference men's tennis season with an 8-1 victory over Saint Michael's College inside the Tarrant Recreation Center this afternoon.

Junior Thomas Bellio (Saint Joseph, Michigan/Saint Joseph) led five double-winners for Stonehill by notching wins at No. 1 singles and doubles. He combined with freshman Manu Ravichandrakumar (Chennai, India/Saddlebrook Prep (Fla.)) to lead a sweep of the three doubles matches with an 8-3 decision. Bellio followed that up with a 7-5, 6-4 singles victory against Saint Michael's senior Ben Lambert (Milford, New Hampshire/Milford), while Ravichandrakumar posted a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles against senior Patrick Dietz (Prospect, Connecticut/Woodland Regional).

Junior Jeffrey Gagnon (Providence, Rhode Island/The Wheeler School) clinched the deciding point for Stonehill with his 6-0, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles against senior Hayden Steward (Hamilton, Massachusetts/Pingree School). Gagnon also teamed up with sophomore Dimitri Vlassov (Marblehead, Massachusetts/Marblehead) for an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles. Vlassov was also among the Skyhawks double-winners with his victory at No. 6 singles.

Freshman Matt Mosher (Fairfield, Connecticut/Fairfield Warde) earned Saint Michael's point by edging Stonehill freshman Aaron Diamond (Moultonborough, New Hampshire/Moultonborough Academy) 9-8 (7-4) at No. 5 singles.

Stonehill (3-4, 1-0 NE10) is back in action on Wednesday when it faces Merrimack College, ranked sixth in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Regional rankings, at Trull Brook Golf & Tennis Club in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, for an NE10 dual match at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks next home match is Saturday, April 1, when they host Bentley University for their Purple & White match at 1 p.m. Saint Michael's (1-8, 0-3 NE10) hosts regionally-ranked Adelphi University tomorrow at 10 a.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.