SU men's tennis loses Nicholson for the season
SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University men's tennis team learned Wednesday that they will be without the services of sophomore Matt Nicholson for the remainder of the 2007 season as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test discovered a meniscus tear in his right knee.

Nicholson was the No. 1 singles for the Sea Gulls where he posted a 10-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) play. The Charlotte Hall, Md. native was also part of Salisbury’s No. 1 doubles team with junior Brendan Kincaid. The two of them accumulated a 10-3 record and 2-1 record in the CAC.

Nicholson tweaked his knee on March 24 in a singles match against Ferrum College where he won 6-0, 6-1. He played four of the next five matches before getting a MRI test on Monday, April 2. Nicholson will need surgery to repair the knee and will be off his feet for the next four to six weeks.

"Obviously losing your No. 1 player is tough," said SU coach Randy Halfpap. "Emotionally it is a pretty big loss. Our guys fed off of him [his energy]. At the same time it is a good test for our young guys. Everybody has to step up to the challenge."

Nicholson was named the CAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week on March 26 after he went 5-1 in singles play the week before. The highlight for the week was a three set upset on March 19 against No. 22 Pomona where Nicholson defeated Jeff Jablonski. His last match was last Saturday (March 31) against No. 9 Mary Washington when he was forced to retire, due to problems with the knee, in the third set.

Halfpap has not announced who will take over the No. 1 doubles spot for the Sea Gulls. As far as singles, the starting line-up will move up a spot in the order. Salisbury will take to the courts tomorrow (Thursday, April 5) as the Gulls host Haverford in an Atlantic South regional match at 3:30 p.m.