Men's Tennis Moves Past Southern NH, 8-1
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Merrimack College men's tennis team extended its winning streak to four games, all of which have come in Northeast-10 Conference play, with an 8-1 victory over Southern New Hampshire from the SNHU Tennis Courts on Monday evening. The Warriors lost to the Penmen in the NE-10 Championship last season, after coming away with the regular-season title.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 8 | Southern NH 1
Records: Merrimack (6-5, 5-0 NE-10) | Southern NH (3-8, 3-4 NE-10)
Location: SNHU Tennis Courts | Manchester, N.H.
What They Said
Head coach Aaron Bergeron: "I thought our No. 1 doubles pair came out and played a great match, which set the tone for the rest of the guys. It gave the team a boost, setting us up for a well-played match."
How It Happened
The Warriors increased their regular-season conference winning streak to a remarkable 35 games. The last time the Warriors lost an NE-10 game in the regular season was the final match of the 2010-11 campaign.
The last time Merrimack and Southern NH met, the program's competed in the NCAA East Regional, with the Warriors coming away with the 5-3 victory. Just nine days earlier, the Penmen upset the Warriors in the NE-10 Championship, but Merrimack avenged the loss in the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Steven Francis (Perth, Australia) and freshman Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) set the tone at No. 1 doubles, winning convincingly by an 8-1 margin. Merrimack swept the doubles portion of the match, marking the third time during this four-match winning that the Navy and Gold has gone 3-0 in doubles play.
Outside of Francis at No. 1, the Warriors were triumphant at No. 2-6 singles. Junior captain Miguel Belfort (Caracas, Venezuela) avenged his loss Friday with a straight-set win (6-4, 6-4). Meanwhile, Belov, senior Vince Bellino (Amesbury, Mass.), freshman Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and sophomore Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) all won at No. 3-6, respectively. All four student-athletes have yet to lose a singles match in conference play. Bellino and Belov lead the group with 5-0 records in NE-10 singles.
Results
Doubles
1. Steven Francis/Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Xavier Aubron/Emerson Kelby (SNH) 8-1
2. Vince Bellino/Miguel Belfort (MER) def. Sebastian Ramirez/Evan Eaton (SNH) 8-5
3. Frank Vega/Nick Majewski (MER) def. Jeremy Reichentahl/Brad Malenich (SNH) 8-6
Singles
1. Xavier Aubron (SNH) def. Steven Francis (MER) 6-4, 6-3
2. Miguel Belfort (MER) def. Emerson Kelby (SNH) 6-4, 6-4
3. Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Sebastian Ramirez (SNH) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3)
4. Vince Bellino (MER) def. Evan Eaton (SNH) 6-0, 6-1
5. Frank Vega (MER) def. Jeremy Reichentahl (SNH) 6-3, 6-1
6. Nick Majewski (MER) def. Mark Dobek (SNH) 8-1
Up Next
Merrimack concludes a stretch of four straight road games on Thursday when the Warriors return to Manchester, N.H. to battle Saint Anselm at 2 p.m.
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