May 14, 1999
by Jim Mullins
Assistant Director
Sports Information

Corsairs post 10-2 record in 1999, including fourth
straight Little East Conference tennis championship

(Dartmouth, MA) -- Heading into the 1999 season, UMass Dartmouth men's tennis coach Warren Preti had some big holes to fill in his lineup. Having lost five former Little East Conference champions from the 1998 team, Preti wasn't quite sure if he could put together a team which could maintain UMass Dartmouth's streak of consecutive LEC titles.

After dropping the season opener to Salve Regina, UMass Dartmouth won 10 of its next 11 matches to finish with a 10-2 overall record complete with the Corsairs' fourth consecutive Little East Conference men's tennis championship.

The highlight of the 1999 season was the Corsairs' third straight successful defense of their LEC men's tennis championship. Combined with Coach Preti's third straight women's LEC championships last Fall, UMass Dartmouth has captured seven straight LEC tennis championships.

Four singles victories and one doubles win was enough to lift UMass Dartmouth to its fourth consecutive Little East Conference tennis championship in matches hosted by the Corsairs on April 17-18.

The Corsairs managed only one doubles victory on the first day of competition as the team of Mike Gomes (Dartmouth, MA) and Pavel Rabinovich (Norwood, MA) captured the #2 doubles championship.

UMass Dartmouth clinched the title on the second day of competition, winning four of six championships singles matches. Mark Lempart (Karlsruhe, Germany) captured his first LEC championship by winning the #1 singles event, while Jim Green (Harwich, MA) also captured his first LEC title at #4 singles. Chris Costa (Mansfield, MA), a #5 singles LEC champion last year, captured his second crown, moving up to win the #3 singles event. Brian Sexton (Canton, MA), part of the #3 doubles championship team a year ago, earned his first LEC championship by taking the #5 singles competition. UMass Dartmouth finished with 23 points in the six-team event, ahead of second-place Rhode Island College (18.5 pts).

All year long the Corsairs were sparked by solid singles play from Costa, David Coe (Jefferson, MA), Green and Gomes, UMass Dartmouth posted a 54-18 singles record for the 1999 season and a 23-11 doubles mark. Costa finished with the best record among singles' players at 10-1, followed by Coe and Green at 8-2 and Gomes at 8-3.

In limited action, Lemphart was a perfect 4-0 in individual singles matches to go along with his #1 singles title in the LEC championships. What makes Lemphart's record stand out is the fact that he won every match in which he competed by straight set scores of 6-0, 6-0. Three of his singles wins and his LEC title matches were at #1 singles with only once match at # 2 singles.

Among the Corsairs' other top singles players for 1999 were Sexton, who finished with a 7-4 record and Pavel Rabinovich (Norwood, MA), who was 5-2. UMass Dartmouth's top doubles team consisted of Coe and Sexton with a 6-1 record, along with Costa and Green at 5-2.