COLCHESTER, Vt. - Despite its student-athletes taking three singles opponents to three sets, the Saint Michael's College men's tennis team fell to regionally-ranked Bentley University, 8-1, on Saturday in the Tarrant Recreation Center during Northeast-10 Conference action. The Purple Knights fell to 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the league, while the Falcons, who were ninth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region poll, are now 6-8 and 6-1.

During doubles play, senior Chris Moskal (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) and junior Nick Bosco (Glastonbury, Conn./East Catholic) earned the lone victory for Saint Michael's, collecting an 8-3 win at No. 2.

A trio of Purple Knights nearly took singles points, including senior Eric Parziale (Pinehurst, N.C./Pinecrest), who won the first set at No. 1 against the 16th-ranked player in the region, senior Rodrigo Ribeiro (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Chapel School), before falling, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. At No. 3, first-year Steve Thomson (Westport, Conn./Staples) also grabbed a lead during a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 loss, and Moskal rallied for a fifth-spot tie during a 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 setback.

Bosco stayed close during his opening set at No. 2 before falling, 6-4, 6-2, and senior Lyle Nichols (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley) succumbed at No. 6 to senior Lucas Wever (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Chapel School), who competed in his first match this school year after playing No. 1 for Bentley the last two years and being regionally ranked as recently as last May. Sophomore Billy Wood (Wayne, Pa./Home Schooled) slipped in the fourth position.

The Purple Knights head to American International College for a critical NE-10 match tomorrow at 12 p.m.