Men's Tennis Prevails Past Chestnut Hill in Home-Opener, 6-3
NORTH ANDOVER, MA- The Merrimack men's tennis team defeated Chestnut Hill 6-3 in the home opener Sunday afternoon at North Andover High School. The Warriors improve to 6-2 overall with the win while the Griffins fall to 4-5 on the year.
With a pair of wins on the day, senior Sean Pahler (Rumson, NJ) eclipsed the 100 career victories mark.
"We competed well today against a strong team. It was good to get a win in our first home match of the season," said head coach Sean Tully. "We will look to continue our strong play this week in Florida."
Merrimack picked up three doubles victories to sport a 3-0 lead at the end of doubles action. Max Eppley (Malaga, Spain) and Pahler triumphed 8-5 at the top pairs position. Vince Bellino (Amesbury, MA) and Chris Barnhart (Longmeadow, MA0 eked out an 8-6 win at the No. 2 doubles slot. Petar Golijanin (Novi Sad, Serbia) and Chris Toegemann (Narragansett, RI) earned a 9-7 victory at the third match.
Barnhart rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 singles spot while Toegemann cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win at the No. 6 position. Pahler rebounded from dropping the first set 6-3 to claim the second and third sets 6-3, 6-2 to grab the victory at the fourth slot.
Eppley suffered a 6-1, 6-4 loss at the No. 1 position. Golijanin fell in three sets at the No. 2 singles match after winning the second frame 6-1. After bouncing back from losing the first set at the third spot, Bellino secured a 6-3 win in the second to force a third set. The rookie pushed the third set into a tiebreaker as the two were locked at six games each before enduring a 7-4 loss in the tiebreaker.
Merrimack will travel to Florida for a string of three non-conference matches starting with a tilt at Eckerd March 20.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Eppley/Pahler (MER) def. Pham/Twyman (CHC) 8-5
2. Barnhart/Bellino (MER) def. Humes/Ceniceros (CHC) 8-6
3. Golijanin/Toegemann (MER) def. Atri/Solema (CHC 9-7
Singles
1. Humes (CHC) def. Eppley (MER) 6-1, 6-4
2. Pham (CHC) def. Golijanin (MER) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
3. Ceniceros (CHC) def. Bellino (MER) 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
4. Barnhart (MER) def. Twyman (CHC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Pahler (MER) def. Atri (CHC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Toegemann (MER) def. Solema (CHC) 6-1, 6-3
