WALTHAM, Mass. – Second-seeded Bentley University advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference men's tennis championship match  for the third straight season with a 5-4 win over No. 3 seed Southern New Hampshire University in the NE-10 semifinals Thursday afternoon.  The Falcons improve to 15-5 and advance to Saturday's championship at top-seeded Merrimack College.  The Penmen, who are ranked sixth in the East Region, now must await word of a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, with those selections announced Monday (April 23) evening.

Bentley's Andrew Waddington clinched the match, rallying past SNHU's Brad Malenich (Sharon, Mass.) at No. 6 singles.  After dropping the first set 6-2, Waddington posted 6-1 and 6-3 victories in the second and third sets.

The Falcons held a 2-1 lead after doubles, with Mike Wallace (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Mitch Dobek (Westfield, Mass.) posting an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles to give the Penmen their lone point.

In singles action, Dobek, playing at No. 1, defeated Lucas Wever 6-4 in the first set before Wever retired due to injury.  Juan Arango-Campo (Armenia Quindio, Colombia) was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Zach Tuckman at second singles, while Wallace posted a 6-4, 6-1 triumph at No. 4.

Southern New Hampshire was making its third Northeast-10 semifinal appearance in the last four seasons, while Bentley will be seeking its third straight NE-10 Tournament title on Saturday.

Bentley 5, So. New Hampshire 4
4/19/12 at Waltham, Mass. (Bentley Tennis Courts)