Men's Tennis Set to Meet Philadelphia in NCAA Tournament
BETHLEHEM, Pa.- For the second-consecutive year, the Merrimack men's tennis teams will square off against Philadelphia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Making their fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the Warriors received the No. 5 seed in the East Region while the Rams claimed the No. 4 seed. The match will be played May 1 at the Ulrich Courts on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The victor will advance to face the No. 1 team in the region, Concordia, May 2.
Merrimack posted a 17-5 overall record this season and claimed a share of its first-ever Northeast-10 Conference regular season title with a 10-1 mark in the league. The Warriors reached the semifinals of the Northeast-10 playoffs before falling to eventual champion Bentley 5-4. Merrimack advanced to the semifinals with a 5-0 victory over Pace in the quarterfinals.
Led by five Northeast-10 All-Conference first team selections, the Warriors set a new program record for most wins in a season.
Petar Golijanin (Novi Sad, Serbia), Tim McHugh (Edgartown, Mass.), Liam Hoare (West Newbury, Mass.) and Chris Toegemann (Narrragansett, R.I.) were all tabbed to the Northeast-10 All-Conference first team in singles. The doubles pair of McHugh and Toegemann also earned first team honors this season.
Max Eppley (Malaga, Spain) was named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference second team while Chris Barnhart (Longmeadow, Mass.) earned a spot on the All-Rookie squad. Barnhart and Eppley also took home Northeast-10 All-Conference second team doubles accolades.
The Rams ousted the Warriors in the 2010 NCAA Tournament first round with a 5-1 decision. Philadelphia, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament runner-up, enters the match with a 17-6 overall record.
Merrimack's first and only victory in the NCAA Tournament came on May 8, 2009 as the Warriors edged Adelphi 5-4 in the first round before suffering a 5-0 loss to Concordia.
