Men's Tennis Bumped from NE10 Semis by Bentley 5-4
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Merrimack men's tennis team fell 5-4 to Bentley in the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals Thursday afternoon at Willows Racquet and Fitness Club. The second-seeded Warriors dip to 17-5 overall while the No. 3 Falcons move to 12-7 on the year.
Merrimack owned a 2-1 lead at the end of doubles play. Chris Barnhart (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Tim McHugh (Edgartown, Mass.) edged Bentley's Alec Spycher and Zach Tuckman 9-8 at the No. 2 position. Liam Hoare (West Newbury, Mass.) and Chris Toegemann (Narragansett, R.I.) claimed an 8-5 victory at the third doubles match. The Warriors top duo of Max Eppley (Malaga, Spain) and Petar Golijanin (Novi Sad, Serbia) suffered a narrow 9-8 decision.
Eppley cruised past Tuckman 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 2 singles slot. McHugh earned a 6-4, 6-3 win at the fifth singles spot.
Golijanin fell 6-1, 6-2 in the third position while Toegemann dropped a 6-1, 6-2 result at the No. 6 slot. Hoare bounced back from losing the first set 7-6 to take the second 6-3 before falling 6-1 in the third frame. In a closely contested match at the No. 1 singles position, Barnhart captured a 7-5 win in the first set. The Falcons' Lucas Wever evened the match with a 7-5 decision in the second. Down 6-5 in the third set, Barnhart was forced to retire due to an injury.
Merrimack will learn if it earns an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament April 26. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on the NCAA website at 8 p.m.
Results
Doubles
No. 1 Wever/Ribeiro (B) def. Eppley/Golijanin (M) 9-8
No. 2 Barnhart/McHugh (M) def. Spycher/Tuckman (B) 9-8
No. 3 Hoare/Toegemann (M) def. Suski/Waddington (B) 8-5
Singles
No. 1 Wever (B) def. Barnhart (M) 5-7, 7-5, 6-5 retired
No. 2 Eppley (M) def. Tuckman (B) 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Ribeiro (B) def. Golijanin (M) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Spycher (B) Hoare (M) 7-6, 3-6, 6-1
No. 5 McHugh (M) def. Suski (B) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Waddington (B) def. Toegemann (M) 6-1, 6-2
