RINDGE, N.H. (September 26, 2017) – After a pair of rainouts earlier in the fall, the Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team finally got the chance to open its season on Tuesday afternoon. The Ravens did so in style on their home courts, as they rolled to a 9-0 win over Gordon College in a non-conference match.

With the win, Franklin Pierce opens its season at 1-0, while Gordon falls to 0-1.

First doubles was, by a significant margin, the most competitive match of the day. Franklin Pierce juniors James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) worked a little overtime, but were able to put away Fighting Scots senior Mason Casady and junior Nathan Lookwhy, 9-7.

Things were also relatively close at second doubles, with sophomore Matthew Toombs (Pleasanton, Calif.) and junior Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.) teaming up for an 8-5 win over senior Michael D'Antuono and freshman Will Jeffreys. Meanwhile, second doubles was a rout, as sophomore Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel) and freshman Roberto Chong (Puigpunyent, Spain) blanked sophomore Jonathan Frink and senior Peter Godwin, 8-0.

Franklin Pierce would not drop a set while taking all six singles matches to finish out the sweep. The closest a Raven came to doing so was at fourth singles, where Lawrence was taken nearly to the limit before taking the first set, 7-5, before rolling over D'Antuono in the second set for a 7-5, 6-1 win. At third singles, Frink stuck with Barak early, but the latter chalked up a 6-4, 6-2 win.

The remaining singles matches were less competitive. At the top of the score sheet, Chong tallied a 6-2, 6-1 win over Casady at first singles, while Bisazza notched a 6-1, 6-1 win over Lookwhy at second singles. Meanwhile, at fifth singles, it was a 6-2, 6-1 win for Schadt over Jeffreys, and Toombs prevailed over Godwin at sixth singles, 6-1, 6-0.

The Ravens return to the court on Wednesday, Oct. 4, when they travel to NYIT for a non-conference match at 2 p.m. in Old Westbury, N.Y.

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).