College Tennis
Men: Rider University 4, Wagner College 3
Women: Rider University 7, Wagner College 0
LAWRENCEVILLE--Sophomore John Spellman (Toms River/Toms River HS South) won the deciding match at fourth singles as the Rider University men's tennis team won a 4-3 thriller over Wagner on Thursday afternoon.
For the Rider women, the Broncs swept the Seahawks led by a straight set win from sophomore Marly Roche (Sussex/High Point Regional) at first singles.
"It was two good matches," said head coach Ed Torres. "We've played some really tough teams and today's opponent (Wagner), we were evenly matched with."
With the men's match tied at 3-3, Spellman won his second set 6-1 to clinch the win for Rider.
"John played well," Torres said. "His serve was solid and he played a steady match. And on the women's side, everyone played well, top to bottom."
"It felt great getting this win for my team," Spellman said. "I knew it was going to be a close match so I knew I needed to win. My match was tight the first set because we were getting a feel for each other. The second set I just kept keeping the ball deep and forced him into errors, which made things tougher on him. The match was a big win for the team, it feels great."
The men won at Wagner 6-0 in the fall with the women's team winning 7-0 against the Seahawks during the fall season.
"The men's match was tighter this time around," Torres added. "Wagner added a few players for the spring semester and they played really well at the top of the lineup."
The men's team travels to La Salle Friday.
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