NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's tennis team kept it close with Norwich in the squads' second meeting in six days, leaving Shapiro Field House with a 6-3 victory Thursday afternoon.

Miki Almirall and Connor Davis were tripped up at the No. 1 tandem flight, but the Spartans (3-0) were able to take the other two doubles sets. Christian Giannone made his on-court debut with Liam Cramer as the pair scored an 8-3 win at the third slot. Second-flight duo Jason Lipscomb/Khiem Nguyen improved to 3-0 this season, slipping past Sophia Sevi/Matthias Tchantouridze in an 8-5 contest.

In singles, Tchantouridze prevailed over Davis at the No. 3 spot to tie the dual. Nguyen fell to Terrance Bayly-Henshaw in top-flight play, giving Norwich (1-2) its last point of the day. Giannone took down Noah Sham in 6-1, 6-2 fashion at the sixth flight and fifth-slotted Cramer ousted Sevi in straight sets. Almirall tallied a 6-4 first set at No. 2 against Assumpta Nandawula but lost the second, pulling out a 10-6 super tiebreak for the win. Lipscomb found himself in similar territory at the fourth flight, going back-and-forth with Sean Horgan before notching a 12-10 decision in the super tiebreaker.

The Spartans head into the Granite State on Saturday, March 23 to face Colby-Sawyer, seeking a fourth consecutive victory and the program's best start since 2017. Action is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. inside Mountainside Racquet & Fitness Center in New London, N.H.