The Beacons knew beating undefeated Bridgewater State was a daunting task. One visiting fan said that Bridgewater State’s captain Matt Kelly called his team “the best they’ve had.”

That bravado showed last Saturday. Bridgewater State led from start to finish en route to a 9-0 victory at the Clark Athletic Center.

For the Beacons, the highlight was a tightly contested match between number-one singles players Dat Nguyen and Bridgewater State’s Matt Charest. Charest was recently named Conference Player of the Week and mixes steady backcourt groundstrokes with attacking net play. However, Nguyen’s confidence was high following a Suffolk University victory in the Beacons’ previous game.

Nguyen was controlling the match in the second set and early third. He won 10 out of twelve games in one stretch with attacking forehands and great hands at the net. However, Charest picked up the pace on his shots when trailing in the third, and was able to rally for the victory, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

For the season overall, Freshman third-singles player Daniel Bueno was recently named the Rookie of the Week award winner following an impressive showing against East Nazarene, April 6. He won both his singles and doubles matches in that contest. Bueno has contributed strongly with a smooth game, strong forehand and ability to attack the net.

Rounding out the top four spots in the current lineup are second singles player Jay Lee and fourth singles player Glen Schleehauf. Lee relies on powerful groundstrokes and enjoys bashing long rallies, while selectively coming in for volleys. Schleehauf charges the net often on returns and short balls.

Following the game, fifth singles player Amit Kumar said the team needs to improve its consistency and motivation to achieve further success. Thus far the Beacons have compiled a 1-4 overall record.

However, the Beacons must climb an uphill battle because it is a challenge to field a full team. Last year, Kumar noted they would have to forfeit individual matches due to lack of players. In Saturday’s match, six were available for Saturday’s game, but just one injury could put UMass Boston in a hole.

The team’s second best player, Jan Drazen, will be out of the lineup for two weeks. But, his return will likely boost the team because the players will move down a spot in the order. With Drazen out, all but Nguyen play up one level than usual. On a positive note, this has given Orlando Alcazar a chance to compete at the sixth singles slot.

Coach David MacBurnie adds: “A lot of our players have little match experience. With more matches, we’ll have more experience to call upon. We are trying to build our stride for conferences [the Little East Conference tournament on May 5-6].”