PORTLAND, Maine – The Vermont State University Castleton men's tennis team notched its first Little East Conference dual victory of the season Saturday with a 7-2 takedown of Southern Maine at the Waynflete Athletic Complex.

Winning by default at the third doubles slot, the Spartans' (5-5, 1-4 LEC) No. 2 pair of Khiem Nguyen/Jason Lipscomb took an 8-4 triumph. The Huskies (0-6, 0-2 LEC) earned their first point from Cole Ouellette/Zac Howe at the top tandem flight.

Southern Maine also surrendered the No. 6 singles match via default. Lipscomb dispatched Landon Weaver in a 6-2, 6-0 fourth-flight win as Christian Giannone prevailed 6-3, 6-3 at the fifth spot. Nguyen suffered a narrow loss to Ouellette in a gritty top-slot contest while Connor Davis took the No. 3 point after winning a first-set tiebreaker and posting a second-set bagel over Howe. The lone three-stanza match featured Miki Almirall rallying to snatch the second and third sets against Zach Desmarais, closing the meet at 7-2 favoring the Spartans.

Next on the docket for VTSU Castleton is a non-conference matchup with VTSU Lyndon on Monday, April 22. First serve against the Hornets is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Topnotch Tennis Academy.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. Ouellette/Howe (USM) def. Almirall/Davis (VTSU), 8-2
2. Nguyen/Lipscomb (VTSU) def. Desmarais/Weaver (USM), 8-4
3. Andersen/Giannone (VTSU), win by default

Singles
1. Cole Ouellette (USM) def. Khiem Nguyen (VTSU), 7-5, 6-0
2. Miki Almirall (VTSU) def. Zach Desmarais (USM), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Connor Davis (VTSU) def. Zac Howe (USM), 7-6 (7-2), 6-0
4. Jason Lipscomb (VTSU) def. Landon Weaver (USM), 6-2, 6-0
5. Christian Giannone (VTSU) def. Jake Singelais (USM), 6-3, 6-3
6. Stanley Andersen (VTSU), win by default