MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The eighth-seeded Bates men's tennis team saw its 2025-26 season come to a close Friday morning, falling 4-0 to top-seeded Tufts in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Championship Tournament at Wesleyan's John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts.
The appearance marked Bates' first trip to the conference postseason since the 2022-23 campaign and the final collegiate match for senior
Theo Sardain.
Tufts secured the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3, as the Bobcats' pairings of
Eric Diop and
Josh Maller, along with
Nicolas Ozer and
James Sacco, each dropped 6-1 decisions. The nationally-ranked duo of Sardain and partner
Phillippe Kosyagin were tied 3-2 at No. 1 doubles when play was halted.
In singles, the Jumbos clinched the match with straight-set victories at Nos. 2, 5, and 6. Diop fell 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2, while Ozer and Sacco were defeated 6-1, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-2, respectively.
Several matches went unfinished, including Kosyagin's battle at No. 1 singles, where he had taken the opening set 6-4 before Tufts rallied 1-0 in the second. Sardain was also in action at No. 3 singles in his final match in a Bates uniform when play was stopped.
Bates closes the season with a 6-11 record. The Jumbos (20-2) move on to play fifth-seed Amherst Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in the NESCAC semifinals.
