ORLANDO, Fla. (March 17, 2016) – After a day off on Wednesday, the Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team returned to the court on Thursday afternoon with a 6-3 win over Illinois Wesleyan in non-conference, neutral-site play in Florida.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-8, while Illinois Wesleyan falls to 0-4.

Franklin Pierce opened the day by taking a 2-1 lead by winning two of the three doubles matches. At second doubles, freshman Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) and senior Drew Bennett (Rindge, N.H.) rolled past Illinois Wesleyan junior Calen Crim and senior John Cordan, 8-1. Meanwhile, at third doubles, sophomores Olivier Viel (Quebec City, Quebec) and Logan Sherwood (Merrimac, Mass.) scored an 8-6 win over sophomore Nick Sagastume and senior Joshua Yoo.

Singles play would be wild on Thursday, with four of the six matches requiring a third-set tiebreak. Franklin Pierce claimed wins in three of those four matches, and four of six singles matches overall, to pull out the 6-3 win.

The most hotly-contested singles match came at first singles, where freshman James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) took a first-set tiebreak from senior George Alex, but the latter roared back with a dominant second-set win. The tiebreak set went long, before Alex eventually pulled out the 6-7 (5), 6-1, 13-11 win.

At second singles, freshman Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.) rallied past Crim for a 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 victory. At fourth singles, Bennett needed just two sets to dispatch Cordan, 6-2, 6-0. At fifth singles, Viel came back for a 1-6, 6-4, 10-7 win over Sagastume. Finally, at sixth singles, Sherwood defeated Yoo, 2-6, 6-1, 10-6.

The Ravens return to the court on Friday, March 18, when they wrap up their trip to Florida by traveling to meet Eckerd in a non-conference match in St. Petersburg, Fla.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).