LEWISTON, Maine – The Bates men's tennis team carried its recent momentum into conference play, securing a 5-2 victory over Connecticut College in the Bobcats' NESCAC opener on Saturday morning at Merrill Gymnasium. The win marks the third consecutive triumph for Bates, improving its record to 3-4 (1-0 NESCAC) on the year.

Bates set the tone in doubles play with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. The top pairing of Phillippe Kosyagin and Theo Sardain took down Connecticut College's Nikhil Agarwal and Arjun Premkumar 6-4, while the duo of Eric Diop and Tylan Ozkuzey battled to a 7-6 victory at No. 3 over Krishh Tipnis and Sigmond Winiecki. Though the Camels (4-3, 1-3 NESCAC) managed to pick up a win at No. 2 doubles, the Bobcats secured the doubles point and entered singles play with a 1-0 advantage.

In singles action, Kosyagin extended Bates' lead with a dominant performance at No. 1, defeating Premkumar 6-4, 6-2. Sardain followed with a hard-fought win at No. 2, edging Taylor-Kerman in two sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 giving the Bobcats a commanding lead.

Diop stepped up at No. 3 singles to win the battle over Walker Mulligan 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Ozkuzey put the finishing touch on the day with a clutch victory at No. 6 singles, defeating Gavin Anderson 6-4, 6-1 to complete the home win for the Bobcats.

"I'm proud of the team because this was a difficult loss for us last year at Conn (3/22/24)," said head coach Paul Gastonguay '89. "We tried to make it not about revenge, but about playing the way we train every, single day and taking care of business just like we have been. I thought the team did a really good job of staying focused and getting through the difficult points in the matches; the team fought hard every step of the way."

Bates returns to action Sunday at noon as the Bobcats welcome No. 3 nationally-ranked Tufts to Merrill Gymnasium.