Men's Tennis Tops Saint Michael's 6-3 to Start Spring
COLCHESTER, VT- The Merrimack men's tennis team claimed a 6-3 victory at Saint Michael's Saturday afternoon to open the spring schedule. The Warriors rise to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Northeast-10 Conference matches with the win. The Purple Knights sink to 4-1 on the year and 3-1 in the league.
Merrimack swept the three doubles matches to hold a 3-0 advantage at the start of singles play. Max Eppley (Malaga, Spain) and Sean Pahler (Rumson, NJ) combined to earn an 8-4 victory at the top slot. Petar Golijanin (Novi Sad, Serbia) and Chris Toegemann (Narragansett, RI) posted an 8-2 win at the No. 2 position. Chris Barnhart (Longmeadow, MA) and Vince Bellino (Andover, MA) triumphed at the third doubles spot 8-2.
The two teams split the six singles points as the Warriors logged their fourth win of the year.
Golijanin turned in a 6-2, 6-3 victory at the second singles match and Vince Bellino cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 4 slot. At the third singles position, Pahler edged Sam Cieplicki in a first-set tiebreaker 7-2 before taking the second 6-2.
"All three doubles pairs played extremely well today and that set us up to win the match," said head coach Sean Tully. "Today's win was a great way to start the spring and we will look to keep playing the way we have been since the fall."
Merrimack returns to the courts March 11 for a Northeast-10 match at Saint Anselm.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Eppley/Pahler (MER) def. Bosco/Parziale (STM) 8-4
2. Golijanin/Toegemann (MER) def. Healey/Vassallo (STM) 8-2
3. Barnhart/Bellino (MER) def. Brahm/Allen (STM) 8-2
Singles
1. Bosco (STM) def. Eppley (MER) 6-1, 6-3
2. Golijanin (MER) def. Parziale (STM) 6-2, 6-3
3. Pahler (MER) def. Cieplicki (STM) 7-6 (2), 6-2
4. Bellino (MER) def. Healey (STM) 6-0, 6-1
5. Vassallo (STM) def. Toegemann (MER) 8-6
6. Wood (STM) won by default
