Colby-Sawyer Wins NAC East Title, Advances to NAC Championship
NEW LONDON, N.H. - In its first season with the conference, the Colby-Sawyer men's tennis team defeated Johnson State 8-1 in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Eastern Division Championship to advance to the NAC Final versus the NAC West Champion on May 5 at Tri-City fitness in Albany, New York.
In the semifinal round, top-seed Colby-Sawyer cruised to a 9-0 sweep over fourth-seed Castleton, and second seeded Johnson State advanced to the final round by way of an 8-1 triumph over third-seed Thomas.
Colby-Sawyer jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after doubles play. The No. 1 team of Jamie Thormann and Justin Pinard dispatched Ryan Joy and Chance Swafford 8-6. Nolan Foley and Reeve Fidler defeated Alex Turan and Kyle Young 8-3 at No. 2 doubles. The third doubles team of Sergio Spassof and Eric Caples won 8-1 over James Dempsey and Ben Algar.
Ryan Joy was responsible for the Badgers' one win that came over Jamie Thormann at No. 1 singles 6-4, 6-4.
Justin Pinard, Clay Allen and Sergio Spassof each took their singles matches in straight sets. Reeve Fidler also won in two sets but Alex Turan made it close in the second. Fidler won the tie break 8-6 to win the match 6-2, 7-6. At the fourth flight, Nolan Foley clinched the East Division Championship with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Kyle Young.
NAC Eastern Division All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP
Colby-Sawyer College – Justin Pinard
All Tournament Team
Thomas College – Tom Bird
Castleton State College – Brian O'Neill
Johnson State College – Ryan Joy
Colby-Sawyer College – Jamie Thormann
April 23, 2012
The Colby-Sawyer College men's tennis team earned the top seed in the 2012 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) East Division men's tennis tournament after posting a perfect 5-0 record in conference play.
Colby-Sawyer (7-11, 5-0 NAC), in its first year with the league, won all five of its conference matches to earn the top spot and will host a one day final four tournament on Saturday, April 28 in New London, N.H. The Chargers host the fourth seed Spartans of Castleton (6-8, 2-3 NAC). The other semifinal match will be between the second seed Badgers of Johnson State (9-7, 4-1 NAC) and the third seed Terriers of Thomas (5-6, 3-2 NAC).
Colby-Sawyer defeated Castleton 9-0 on April 21, in a regular season finale for both teams. Earlier in the season, the Chargers picked up a 9-0 win at Castleton, which did not count towards the conference standings. Johnson State defeated Thomas 7-2 on April 15 in Johnson, Vt.
Matches will begin on Saturday, April 28, at Kelsey Courts in New London, N.H. on the campus of Colby-Sawyer College at 10:00am, in a single elimination final four format. The winners of the morning matches will then play for the NAC East Division title at approximately 2:00pm. Colby-Sawyer and Castleton will play on the lower courts, while Johnson State and Thomas will compete on the upper courts.
If inclement weather should arise, the matches will be played on Sunday. If weather is poor on Sunday, the matches will be moved to Dartmouth Indoor Courts in Hanover, N.H.
Beginning with the 2010 season, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in the sports of baseball, women's lacrosse, and men's and women's tennis. The NEAC will compete as associate members of the NAC in women's lacrosse and men's tennis, while the NAC will compete as associate members of the NEAC in baseball and women's tennis. Members from each conference will be divided into an East and West Division for each sport, with each division holding a championship and the two divisional champions then facing off to determine the conference champion. The conference winner for each sport will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.