GORHAM, Maine – Senior Adam Whitman (New Castle, N.H./Portsmouth) and junior Corey Dyke (Monmouth, Maine/Monmouth Academy) gutted out a 9-7 win at first doubles to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 5-0 win over the Rhode Island College Anchormen in a Little East Conference men's tennis tournament quarterfinal match Tuesday afternoon at the Gorham High School Tennis Courts in Gorham, Maine.
With its fourth consecutive victory, Southern Maine improves to 11-5 overall and advances to the semifinal round of the 2013 Little East Conference Men's Tennis Championship. The third seed in the tourney, the Huskies will travel to second seed UMass Dartmouth Corsairs on Thursday (3:00 p.m.). The loss concludes the Anchormen's season at 2-12.
Whitman and Dyke's 9-7 nail-biting victory helped USM to a key 3-0 lead after the doubles points had finished. Whitman and Dyke defeated the RIC tandem of junior Alex Werchadlo (Woonsocket, R.I./Cumberland) and freshman Ben Proctor (Cumberland, R.I).
Junior Christopher G. Ross (Somerset, Mass./Somerset) and sophomore Thaddeus St. John (Weld, Maine/Mt. Blue) earned an 8-3 win at second doubles defeating Anchormen sophomore Mike McCaffrey (Cumberland, R.I.) and junior Ted James (West Greenwich, R.I./Bishop Hendricken).
At third singles, senior Jonathan Sproul (Bristol, Maine/Lincoln Academy) and freshman Sebastien Taylor (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) continued their strong play cruising to an 8-0 win over Cory Norberg and Matt Collins.
Whitman defeated Werchadlo 6-2, 6-0 at first singles and Ross downed McCaffrey in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 to account for the final two deciding points of the match.
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