Men's Tennis Handles Holy Cross, 4-3
WORCESTER, Mass.- The Merrimack men's tennis
team downed Holy Cross 4-3 Wednesday. The win puts the Warriors at
1-0 in dual matches this year while the Crusaders fall to 0-2 on
the year.
Holy Cross opened the match with two wins in doubles play
enabling it to gain a 1-0 lead. Merrimack's lone win in doubles
action was an 8-4 victory by Petar Golijanin
(Novi Sad, Serbia) and Sean Pahler (Rumson,
N.J.).
The Warriors used four wins in singles play to claim the match,
4-3. Max
Eppley (Malaga, Spain) cruised to the win at the No. 2
slot, 6-1, 6-1, knotting the match score at 1-1. Golijanin picked
up a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the No. 3 position to put Merrimack up
2-1. Rishi Rajpal (New
Delhi, India) fought hard but fell at the top singles spot
to a talented player.
With three points remaining on the table, Ryan Sullivan picked
up a three-set win for the Crusaders over Pahler. Holy Cross went
ahead 3-2 with the win at the No. 4 slot, putting the pressure on
the two Warriors still battling.
Liam
Hoare (West Newbury, Mass.) and Pahler each went three
sets at the No. 5 and 6 positions but pulled out victories to earn
the big win for Merrimack.
"This was a great comeback win which could be used for
motivation later in the season," commented head coach Chris
Stevens.
The Warriors travel to Chestnut Hill for a dual match, Sept. 17,
before competing in the ITA Regional tournament, Sept. 18-19.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Matt Wierzel/Ryan Sullivan (HC) def. Rishi Rajpal/Max Eppley
(MC), 9-7
2. Petar Golijani/Sean Pahler (MC) def. Chris Das/Ajeya Shekar
(HC), 8-4
3. Connor McCann/Chris Brosnan (HC) def. Chris Barhardt/Liam Hoare
(MC), 8-2
Singles
1. Wierzel (HC) def. Rajpal (MC), 6-3, 6-5
2. Eppley (MC) def. Das (HC), 6-1, 6-1
3. Golijani (MC) def. Brosnan (HC), 6-2, 6-1
4. Sullivan (HC) def. Pahler (MC), 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Hoare (MC) def. McCann (HC), 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
6. McHugh (MC) def. Scot Brownell (HC), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
