MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - The No. 4-ranked and top-seeded Tufts University men's tennis squad earned its first NESCAC title since 1989, claiming its fourth all-time conference crown with a 4-1 win over No. 6-ranked and second-seeded Bowdoin College at Wesleyan University's John Wood Memorial Courts. 

The Jumbos (22-2) extend their win streak to 16 straight matches overall after sweeping through the NESCAC Tournament, and earn the NESCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field, which will be unveiled on Monday, May 4 at 12:30 p.m. via a selection show on NCAA.com.

Bowdoin (17-4) earned the first doubles match with a 6-1 win on the No. 2 court. The Jumbos' senior duo of Sacha Maes and Alex Ganchev evened the score, knocking off Mark Kneiss and Jackson Codd 6-2 at No. 1

At No. 3 doubles, Bowdoin led 5-2 and looked poised to take a 1-0 lead into singles play, but Javier Gonzalez and Stavros Mastrogamvrakis won the final five games, including two breaks of serve on the way to a 7-5 win to take the momentum into the singles competition. 

Tufts played well in the individual portion of action, as Ganchev cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kiran Garapati at No. 2 to push the Jumbos' lead to 2-0. It marked Ganchev's 15th straight win, and he has not lost to a Division III opponent this spring. 

Minutes later, junior Garv Bahl gave the Jumbos a 3-0 lead with his 13th straight victory and team-leading 20th win overall as he won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles over Cameron Zia. 

Bowdoin would get a win at No. 1 singles, as Kneiss bested Gonzalez 6-2, 6-2, but the clinching point came at No. 3 for Tufts. Senior Andrej Djokic won the first set 6-4, and led 4-1 in the second before Codd rallied to tie the set at four games apiece. Djokic would earn a break in the next game, and then held serve as his flying forehand forced an errant return that landed out and handed the Jumbos the title. The victory was Djokic's sixth straight win overall in singles play. Tufts improved to 110-25 in dual match singles action this spring.