Story courtesy of Christa Parulis-Kaye, Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations

For Immediate Release:
April 30, 2009

ATTLEBORO, Mass.-The Mariners of Mitchell College grabbed the first-ever New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's tennis championship title for the 2009 season. The Mariners (11-0 overall) claimed the top spot after posting a perfect 8-0 NECC record in conference play.

The Mariners are led by Head Coach Rick Carmona, the 2008 NECC Women's Head Tennis Coach of the Year. Freshman Kyle Carmona (Norwich, Conn.) and Tyler Engleberg (Niantic, Conn.) have led the way all season for the Mariners.  Carmona has produced a perfect record at 10-0 at the #1 spot  while Engleberg has also remained undefeated at 9-0. Carmona has also remained undefeated at the #1 doubles spot with three partners including a 6-0 record with junior Daniel Dwortesky (Glastonbury,Conn.).

The Lynx of Lesley University(6-6, 5-3) and the Hawks of Becker College (7-9, 5-3), the NECC pre-season favorite, finished tied in the conference standings as the they share the 2009 NECC men's tennis runners-up plaque.

The Nighthawks of Newbury (2-11 overall) finished fourth in the NECC with a 2-6 record, defeating the Wildcats of Wheelock College twice in their 2009 campaign.

Rounding out the standings were the Wildcats (0-8, 0-11) finishing in fifth place in the New England Collegiate Conference.

The 2009 NECC Men's Tennis Championship is determined solely on regular season conference matches.

The 2009 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Tennis Championship Tournament will be an individual flighted tournament that is based upon student-athletes' singles and doubles conference records. Players are seeded as individual players and seeds are not based on a team's finish.

Championship play will begin this weekend on Saturday, May 2 at the Pine Manor Tennis Courts in Brookline, Mass. hosted by Newbury College. Semi-finals doubles action will begin at 10:30 a.m. The semi-finals singles flights will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.  The championships will conclude on Sunday, May 3 where the final winners will be awarded for all six singles flights and all three doubles flights.

2009 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Tennis Championships
Hosted by Newbury College, Brookline, Mass. (Pine Manor Courts)
Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3

Becker (BC), Lesley (LU), Mitchell (MC), Newbury (NC) and Wheelock (WC)

10:30 a.m.
DOUBLES

Flight One:
1. #1 Doubles vs. #4 Doubles: Kyle Carmona/Daniel Dworetsky (MC, 5-0) vs. Wilson Chang/Bobby Venning (WC, 1-6)
2. #2 Doubles vs. #3 Doubles: Charles Heard/ Snjezan Telbak (BC, 4-2) vs. Sonny Ljutica/David Newton (LU, 4-2)

Flight Two:
3. #1 Doubles vs. #4 Doubles: Matt Clewer/Tim Howard (BC, 3-3) vs. Tyler Engleberg/ Samuel Mahar (MC 1-0)
4. #2 Doubles vs. #3 Doubles: Fran Cusick/ Dory LeCount (LU, 2-0) vs. Matt Talamantes/ Benjamin Weiner (NC, 2-0)

Flight Three:
5. #1 Doubles vs. #4 Doubles: Adam Samuels/Chris White (MC, 5-0) vs. Jake Gilbert/Ralph Naval (BC, 0-2)
6. #2 Doubles vs. #3 Doubles: Peter Parrales/Tyler Reeves (LU, 2-2) vs. Jonathan DiNusso/ Matt Tise (NC, 1-2)

12:30 p.m.
SINGLES

Flight One:
7. #1 Singles vs. #4 Singles: Kyle Carmona (MC, 8-0) vs. Nick Sehovich (NC 2-4)
8. #2 Singles vs. #3 Singles: David Newton (LU, 3-2) vs. Wilson Chang (WC, 2-4)

Flight Two:
9. #1 Singles vs. #4 Singles: Tyler Engleberg (MC, 6-0) vs. Snjezan Telbak (BC, 2-4)
10. #2 Singles vs. #3 Singles: Sonny Ljutica (LU, 5-0) vs. Matthew O'Donnell (NC, 3-3)

Flight Three:

11. #1 Singles vs. #4 Singles: Fran Cusick (LU 5-2) vs. Kate Needham (WC, 2-4)
12. #2 Singles vs. #3 Singles: Samuel Mahar (MC 4-1) vs. Matt Clewer (BC 4-2)

Flight Four:
13. #1 Singles vs. #4 Singles: Daniel Dworetsky (MC 5-0) vs. Ross Kaye (NC, 1-4)
14. #2 Singles vs. #3 Singles: Tim Howard (BC, 4-2) vs. Peter Parrales (LU, 3-2)

Flight Five:
15. #1 Singles vs. #4 Singles: Chris White (MC, 5-0) vs. Dory LeCount (LU 2-1)
16. #2 Singles vs. #3 Singles: Jake Gilbert (BC, 4-2) vs. Benjamin Weiner (NC, 1-4)

Flight Six:
17. #1 Singles vs. #4 Singles: Adam Samuels (MC, 3-0) vs. Tyler Reeves (LU, 1-2)
18. #2 Singles vs. #3 Singles: Matt Talamantes (NC, 3-0) vs. Peter Rota (BC, 1-2)

(Records shown are based on their play at that particular position)

*All seeding are based on amount of play at particular position during conference play with 50% rule followed.

The winners of each flight will advance to Sunday's Championship matches playing doubles at 10:30 a.m. and singles immediately after at 12:30 p.m.

To View Full Conference Statistics:http://www.neccathletics.com/sports/mten/2008-09/stats/confstat.htm

To View the 2009 Men's Tennis Tournament Brackets:http://www.neccathletics.com/sports/mten/2008-09/news/2009_NECC_Mens_Tennis_Brackets.pdf