NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's tennis team closed out its 2017 season with an 8-1 loss to defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North division champion Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon in Shapiro Field House. 

The Wildcats (8-2, 2-0 GNAC North) spoiled Norwich's Senior Day for the second time in the last three seasons with the 8-1 victory. 

Senior Jay Carter (Glassboro, N.J.) was the lone victor on the day for the Cadets, defeating Ryan Schiele 8-6, 2-6, (10-6 tiebreaker) at No. 3 singles to close his career with a sparkling 29-11 career record in singles action. 

Norwich battled hard in all three doubles matches, but the Wildcats escaped with a dominant 3-0 lead. Andre Barbero and Nick Auffret downed Ian Hyte (Marblehead, Mass.) and Dylan Ackerman (Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. 

Carter and Tyler Eagan (Verona, N.J) dropped just their second match of the year at No. 2 doubles by an 8-4 score to Schiele and Taylor Farmer. Carter and Eagan finished 8-2 on the season. 

Sophomore Sam Beiter (Youngstown, N.Y.) and Hadley Ellis (Jamestown, Ky.) fell 8-4 at No. 3 doubles to Tyler Dupee and Jack Hopkins. 

In singles action, Hyte lost for just the second time this season 6-2, 6-2 to Barbero. Auffret downed Ackerman 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Farmer beat Eagan 6-0, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. 

Dupee beat Beiter 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5 singles, while Tim Birnbaum (Mahwah, N.J.) fell 6-0, 4-6, 10-7 (tiebreaker) at No. 6 singles. 

Norwich closes the year with a 6-4 record under first-year head coach Adam Chicoine.