WENHAM, Mass.—For the second time in as many meetings, Gordon and Eastern Nazarene was decided by the final match on the court, but this time with a semifinal bid on the line. Joe Daugherty (Norfolk, Va.) survived Tyler Perron (Plympton, Mass.) at sixth singles to close out the nearly four-hour match, 5-4.
 
The Fighting Scots (15-4) move on to the semifinals at top-seeded Roger Williams on Thursday. Eastern Nazarene closes out its season at 10-8.
 
Eastern Nazarene came to play in doubles competition, taking the early leads on all three courts. Sam McKay-Corkum (Rehoboth, Mass.) and Perron cruised to an 8-3 win at second doubles, while the other two matches came down to a coin flip. The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the match when Davis Steelman (Darlington, Md.) and Andres Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) fought off a rally at third doubles, 8-6.
 
Gordon took its first point of the match at the top flight where Zach Hall (Sugar Land, Texas) and Mason Casady (Santa Barbara, Calif.) held on for an 8-6 win over Vladislav Tolmachev (Perm, Russia) and Sam Son (Wilbraham, Mass.).
 
The Fighting Scots evened the scored at two when Hall completed his perfect day. The junior dropped the first two games of the opening set before rallying off 12 straight game to secure a 6-2, 6-0 win. Gordon took the lead just a few moments later when Peter Godwin (Manchester, Conn.) got revenge on Steelman 6-1, 6-4. The ENC junior beat Godwin in straight sets during the regular season.
 
The Lions took the next two matches at third and fourth singles to bring them within a point of moving on to the next round. McKay-Corkum handled Michael D'Antuono (Mapleville, R.I.) 6-1, 6-3, while Paterno beat James Hawn (Southborough, Mass.) 6-4, 6-1.
 
Casady deadlocked the two teams when he beat Son at second singles. The freshman remained undefeated in CCC play with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory.
 
The four-four draw set up a thrilling sixth singles match between Daugherty and Perron. Perron took a set lead by doubling up the Gordon junior in the first set, but Daugherty struck back with a 6-1 second to force a third frame to decide the match. Daugherty took a 5-2 lead in the third set and had a match point before Perron came back to tie it at five games apiece.
 
Gordon's sixth player battled off a break point to fall behind in the match and won the final two games to launch the Scots to their first playoff victory in Coach Amadon's tenure. 

Gordon 5, Eastern Nazarene 4
04/28/15 at Wenham, Mass. (Brigham Courts) 

Singles competition

1. Zach Hall (GC) def. Vladislav Tolmachev (ENC) 6-2, 6-0

2. Mason Casady (GC) def. Sam Son (ENC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2

3. Sam McKay-Corkum (ENC) def. Michael D'Antuono (GC) 6-1, 6-3

4. Kevin Paterno (ENC) def. James Hawn (GC) 6-4, 6-1

5. Peter Godwin (GC) def. Davis Steelman (ENC) 6-1, 6-4

6. Joe Daugherty (GC) def. Tyler Perron (ENC) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5

 

Doubles competition

1. Zach Hall/Mason Casady (GC) def. Vladislav Tolmachev/Sam Son (ENC) 8-6

2. Sam McKay-Corkum/Tyler Perron (ENC) def. Michael D'Antuono/Peter Godwin (GC) 8-3

3. Davis Steelman/Andres Biondi (ENC) def. James Hawn/Joe Daugherty (GC) 8-6

 

Match Notes

Eastern Nazarene 10-8

Gordon 15-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,5,3,4,2,6)

Official: Don Cortese T-3:45 A-80