RINDGE, N.H. (March 31, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team picked up a win over the 10^th-ranked team in the East Region on Saturday, as the Ravens notched a 6-3 win at home over Roberts Wesleyan.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 8-7, while Roberts Wesleyan falls to 4-11.

The match opened with a trio of hard-fought doubles matches, with Franklin Pierce pulling out wins in two of the three. At first doubles, freshman Roberto Chong (Puigpunyent, Spain) and junior Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) were able to grind out an 8-6 win over Roberts Wesleyan senior Hugo Ball-Greene and freshman Guido Janssen. The Ravens also tallied a point at third doubles, with an 8-5 win for junior James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) and sophomore Matthew Toombs (Pleasanton, Calif.) over sophomore Matthew Cruz and junior Andrew Freeman.

Roberts Wesleyan answered with a 9-7 win at second doubles. It was senior Dustin Eshleman and sophomore Dennis Barlotta who bettered sophomore Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel) and junior Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.).

Franklin Pierce then picked up wins in four of the six singles matches to pull away for the 6-3 win. Chong picked up a signature win at first singles, as he notched a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ball-Greene, who is the 11^th-ranked singles player in the East Region.

Meanwhile, the match ended up turning on a three-set affair at second singles. Bisazza dropped the first set to Janssen, but then rallied back for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win to pick up the fifth point of the day for the Ravens, which sealed the victory in the team match. Third singles went three sets as well, with Barlotta slipping past Barak, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4.

Fifth singles was also tied after two sets, but with the team match already decided, the match went to a tiebreaker instead of a full third set. Lawrence chalked up a 2-6, 6-3, 10-6 win over Freeman. Schadt provided the remaining point for the Ravens with a 6-1, 6-3 win over freshman Harmeet Luthra at fourth singles.

The Ravens return to the court on Tuesday, April 3, when they visit Merrimack for a Northeast-10 Conference match in North Andover, Mass.

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).