With four freshman, a transfer and a first-year sophomore out of seven competitors, the young USM men’s tennis team looked promising as they took five of six singles matches and all three doubles matches en route to an 8-1 win over Thomas College at the Costello Sports Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
The freshman tandem of Corey Dyke (Monmouth) and Chris G. Ross (Somerset, Mass.) combined for an 8-4 win in first doubles and each won their singles matches to highlight a dominant day for the Huskies. Normally playing at the third doubles spot, the two sophomores played well against Thomas’ Andre Giguere and Mike Morris in first doubles to improve their doubles record to 5-2 on the year.
“Our freshman and the guys we’ve brought in are stepping up and starting to fill roles we lost last year,” USM Head Coach Ron Chicoine said. “They’re learning how to play together and doing it well.”
Junior Colby-Sawyer transfer Matt Larson (Cape Elizabeth) and sophomore newcomer Ryan Boucher (Lewiston) — who is also a defenseman on the USM hockey team — paired up to earn an 8-1 win in second doubles over Thomas’s Matt Bolstridge and Jesse Peasley, and sophomore Chris M. Ross (Winthrop) and rookie Cassidy Alex (Belfast) cleaned up in third doubles over the Terriers’ Keith Pike and Josh Ross, 8-3, to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead heading into singles action.
In first singles, Larson’s agility and fundamentally-sound game earned him a 6-3, 6-3 win over Giguere, and Chris G. Ross defeated Morris 6-1, 6-0 in second singles.
Dyke handled Bolstridge in third singles easily, winning 6-0, 6-0, as Bolstridge had difficulty handling his powerful flat serve, which at times travels 115-120 MPH.
Boucher defeated Peasley 6-1, 6-4 in fourth singles, and Alex took down Ross in fifth singles, 6-1, 6-3. Pike was the lone winner for Thomas as he defeated USM freshman Alex Smelcer (Westport) 7-6, 7-6 in sixth singles.
Although three of the Huskies’ top players — senior Zach Caron (North Conway, N.H.), senior Mike Sarrazin (Lewiston) and sophomore Jon Sproul (Bristol) — did not play, the Huskies’ fared well and are making the development of younger players a priority this season, as it’s something that Chicoine says is “the key to the future for the program.”
Caron, who as a junior last year was the number six player for the Huskies, has made the rare jump to the team’s number one player this season after working on his game and playing in tournaments against tough competition all summer. According to Chicoine, Caron has become “more consistent” and the “mental part of his game has improved.”
“Zach improved greatly over the summer and now has a better understanding of how to play his game,” Chicoine said. “Going from six to one on the team doesn’t happen very often.”
The Huskies, who are now 5-3 overall, have won their second straight and seem to be poised as they head into a big match on Saturday at noon against 2010 Little East Conference Champion Western Connecticut State in Danbury, Conn.