NEWBURGH, NY – The Mount Saint Mary College men's tennis team earned their first win of the season last night, defeating Bard College in a Skyline Conference match, 7-2. The Blue Knights bumped up to 1-4 overall and to 1-2 in the conference while the Raptors dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 inside the Skyline.

Senior Joe Meilak (Greenville, N.Y.) and freshman Mike McNicholas (Milton, N.Y.) kicked things off with a strong match at second doubles, taking an 8-3 decision. Junior Ian Jackson (Washington, N.J.) and freshman Zach Conlon (Huntington, N.Y) won their second consecutive match at third doubles, downing their opponents, 8-5.

With a 2-1 lead headed into the singles play, the Blue Knights rolled through the bottom of the lineup, taking five of the six singles matches. Meilak was dominant in a 6-4, 6-1 victory at second singles and Conlon rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win at fourth singles. Junior John Como (Wingdale, N.Y.) improved to 3-2 on the season with a 6-0, 6-2 win at fifth singles and Jackson came through with a tidy 6-0, 6-2 win at sixth singles.

The match of the night belonged to McNicholas, however, as he rallied from a first set hole to take the match in a third set match tiebreaker. The freshman dropped the opening set, 6-2, but cleaned up the unforced errors in the second set on his way to a 6-2 win. In the super-tiebreaker, McNicholas jumped out to a 6-0 advantage and never looked back, easing to a 10-5 win.

With several days off for the holiday break, the Blue Knights return to action next Tuesday, April 14 as they'll head to the College of Mount Saint Vincent for a Skyline Conference match. The match is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start.