May 10, 1996

Release # S067 Contact: Adam Levin Sports Information Director Phone #: (207) 786-6411

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stearns Wins Maine State Championships,
Men's Tennis Earns NCAA Berth

LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates College senior Dylan Stearns of Brattleboro , Vt., is the 16th Bobcat player in the last 19 years to win the State of Maine tennis championship, held at Bates on May 4-5.

The day after the finals, the Bates squad learned they would be going to the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament at Binghamton, N.Y., for the first time ever as team. All of this serves as a grand send-off for head coach George Wigton, who is retiring from coaching after 30 years of service to Bates, 26 at the helm of the men's tennis team.

Stearns, the ninth seed in the State of Maine tournament and No. 3 player for Bates, lost just one set in winning four matches over two days to take the title. He was one of six Bobcats to advance to the second round.

After knocking off Colby's third-rated player, Staunton Bowen, 6-1, 6-1, Stearns topped Bates No. 5 Lonnie Klein of Riverdale, N.Y., 6-1, 6- 2, in the quarterfinals. The next day, Stearns beat the tournament's fourth seed and No. 2 on the Bates ladder, Mark Erelli of Reading, Mass., the 1994 State of Maine champion, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, in the semifinals. He took out Paul Hindle of Bowdoin in the finals. Playing on a twisted ankle, Hindle, the lone player not from the host school to advance past the quarterfinals, lost to Stearns in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles, Stearns and teammate Jeff Poleshek of Madison, Conn., rolled through the opposition, losing just seven games in three matches en route to the title. They won their Saturday matches, 8-0 and 8-2, before taking out Erelli and Jeff Zink of Wooster, Ohio, the '93 and '94 state champs, 8-5 in the finals. In winning both titles, Stearns becomes just the sixth person since 1978 to win both the singlesand doubles championships in the same year.

Though the Bobcats have previously sent many individuals to the NCAA Championships, this is the first time they have qualified as a team. Bates was ranked sixth in the East in the NCAA pre-season poll and seeded eighth in the regional tournament. The Bobcats will take on Haverford in the first round May 10 at 1 p.m., with the winner taking on top seed Williams on May 11 at 9 a.m.

The Bobcats have compiled a 12-2 dual match record this season, including a 4-3 win over the East's sixh seed, Tufts. Stearns and first-year player Brian Kend of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., the team's No. 6 player, each enter the regionals having compiled 20-win seasons at singles, while the team of Poleshek and Stearns leads the way at doubles with a 15-4 record. Poleshek, ranked sixth in the East and 33rd nationally preseason is Bates' No. 1 player, while Zink is fourth on the team. Poleshek and Erelli both participated in the 1995 NCAA individual championships. The Bobcats' third doubles team consists of Loren Santilices of Minot, N.D., and Rob Ruby of Camarillo, Calif., who enter the tournament with an 11-5 record.

- 30-