Bisazza, Lawrence win four matches each

WESTON, Mass. (October 12, 2015) – Freshmen James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.) won every match they played in on Sunday, but the effort was not enough for the Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team, which dropped a pair of 5-4 matches at the Regis Invitational. The Ravens were defeated by both Eastern Nazarene and Johnson & Wales at the event.

With the losses, Franklin Pierce falls to 0-5 (0-2 Northeast-10).

Against Eastern Nazarene, the two teams split the six singles matches, meaning doubles play effectively decided the outcome. Bisazza and Lawrence rolled to a 6-0 win over Eastern Nazarene senior Davis Steelman and freshman Shaw Campbell. Perhaps the most pivotal match of the day came at second doubles, where freshman Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) and sophomore Olivier Viel (Quebec City, Quebec) matched up against sophomore Vladislav Tolmachev and senior Kevin Paterno, with the latter pulling out a 6-4 win.

The Ravens scored victories at first, second and sixth singles against Eastern Nazarene. At first singles, Bisazza rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Tolmachev. At second singles, Lawrence picked up a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Paterno. At sixth singles, freshman Joshua Singer (Toms River, N.J.) was a 7-5, 6-1 victor over junior Yahalel Carter.

The story was much the same against Johnson & Wales, as the teams split six singles matches and the Wildcats claimed two of three doubles matches. Again Bisazza and Lawrence won at first doubles, this time 8-5 over JWU juniors Andre Barbero and Nicholas Auffret. The decisive match this time would come at third singles, as Viel and freshman Dan Longtin (Eliot, Maine) went the distance against senior Mariusz Wala and graduate student Jorge Mancebo, before the JWU pair claimed a 9-7 victory.

In singles play, Franklin Pierce picked up wins in the top three matches against Johnson & Wales. All three matches were decided by identical 6-1, 6-0 scores: Bisazza trumped Barbero at first singles, Lawrence downed Auffret at second singles, and Schadt took care of sophomore Taylor Farmer at third singles.

The Ravens return to the court on Friday, Oct. 16, when they return home to host Bentley in a Northeast-10 Conference match at 2 p.m. in Rindge.

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).