Four times as sweet
The Spartan men’s tennis team wrapped up a perfect season with a near-flawless win against Thomas College to reel in its fourth straight North Atlantic Conference championship. Led by senior CJ Sullivan’s tournament MVP performance, the Spartans rallied to dominate their opponents, defeating Johnson State College 9-0 and Thomas 7-2 in the playoffs.
The weekend began for the Spartans on Saturday morning as they rolled past the fourth-seeded Johnson State 9-0, sweeping all sets but one. Robbie Gray, Willie Levine, Justin Garritt, Jessee Maranda and Ted Panasci recorded victories. Sullivan suffered the only loss. It took more than just singles play to win this championship. The team doubles pairing of Sullivan/Maranda, Garritt/Panasci and Gray/Levine came up with big wins to propel the Spartans to their ultimate goal, a NAC final appearance.
On Sunday, number two-seeded Thomas College awaited the top-seeded Spartans in the NAC final match.
In singles action, the Spartans crushed Thomas 5-1, led by Sullivan, whose 6-2, 6-2 drubbing of Thomas’s number one player, Jeremy Cliff, set the tone for the rest of the final match. Levine, Garrit, Maranda and Panasci followed Sullivan with straight set wins.
In number two doubles, Garrit and Panasci tied it at one game apiece, setting up a tie-breaking number three doubles. Gray and Levine handled their competition with an 8-1 win, securing the final point for the 7-2 NAC Championship win.
This championship win was the perfect way to end a perfect season, especially for the four seniors on the team. Sullivan, Panasci, Maranda and Gray walk away from Castleton men’s tennis on top of the NAC with the sweet taste of victory and perfection.
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