NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

The United States Coast Guard Academy tennis team saw their season come to an end on Saturday, April 18th, with a 2-5 loss to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foes Wheaton College. The Bears picked up their points from doubles play and a singles victory.

Coast Guard got off to a good start with a 2-1 victory in doubles to secure the first point of the day, but not without some adversity. A 6-0 game on #3 went Wheaton's way before Ben Carlander (Monument, Colo.) and Konnor Eslinger (St. Louis, Mo.) evened things up at #2 with a 6-4 win. The match at #1 was won by the Bears' Ben Bonetto (Bend, Oreg.) and Brendan Love (Winchester, Va.), who won a 7-5 tiebreaker for a 7-6 victory against the Lyons' top pair to get their team an early advantage.

Wheaton would eventually claim the day in singles, going 5-1 in individual play. The lone victor for Coast Guard was the ace Bonetto, who closed his junior season with a 2-0 (6-4, 7-5) result against Jaime Galligo. Bonetto wraps his 2026 campaign at 6-6 overall and 4-3 against league opponents. As for the winning pairs, Bonetto and Love also close their partnership at 6-6 overall (4-3 NEWMAC), while Carlander and Eslinger improve to 1-1 on the season.

The respective results mark an end to the 2026 campaigns of both teams as they each finish outside the top five necessary to qualify for the NEWMAC Championship Tournament. Wheaton closes at 8-7 and 2-5 in the conference, while Coast Guard heads into the offseason at 2-9 and 1-6.