#3 Men's Tennis Advances in NCAA Tournament with 5-1 Win vs. #6 Adelphi
Links: Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The third-seeded Merrimack College men's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded Adelphi on Saturday afternoon from the LIU Post Tennis Courts. Saturday's win marks the fourth straight year that the Warriors have won a first-round matchup in the tournament.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 5 | Adelphi 1
Records: Merrimack (14-6) | Adelphi (10-6)
Location: LIU Post Tennis Courts| Brookville, N.Y.
What They Said
Head coach Aaron Bergeron: "We did not play our best tennis early in the doubles but the guys didn't stop fighting and came away with three tight victories. Adelphi deserves a lot of credit for their fight and effort today, especially being without the Player of the Year in the conference. We're going to recharge tonight and prepare to take on either NYIT or UDC tomorrow."
NCAA Tournament: East Regional
1) Concordia (N.Y.)
2) NYIT
3) Merrimack
4) Queen's (N.Y.)
5) Chesnut Hill
6) Adelphi
7) District of Columbia
Merrimack landed in a pod hosted by second-seeded and 18th-ranked NYIT. The games will be played on the campus of LIU Post, which is next door to the campus of NYIT. The Warriors will play either the Bears or seventh-seeded UDC tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.
Queen's will host the other pod, playing Chesnut Hill in a preliminary round match. The Winner advances to play top-seeded Concordia on Sunday.
How It Happened
The doubles portion of the match ended with Merrimack holding a 3-0 lead. Sophomore Steven Francis (Perth, Australia) and freshman Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) won 9-7 at No. 1. At No. 2 and No. 3 the Warriors prevailed by identical scores of 8-6. Captains Vince Bellino (Amesbury, Mass.) and Miguel Belfort (Caracas, Venezuela) won for the second straight time in as many matches agaisnt the Pantehrs and at No. 2.
With the two doubles victories, Merrimack only needed to win twice at singles to wrap up the match. Bellino completed a solid afternoon with a 6-2 and 6-2 victory over Sebastian Zepata. Freshman Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) dispatched Justin Vijungco, 6-3 and 6-1, to secure the victory for the Warriors. The Navy and Gold improved to 3-0 over Adelphi this season with the win.
Adelphi was hampered by the loss of Northeast-10 Player of the Year Matteo Cannavera, who was unable to play due to injury.
Results
Doubles
1. Steven Francis/Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Sander Brenner/U. Litvinchuk (ADE) 9-7
2. Vince Bellino/Miguel Belfort (MER) def. Chiwete Njokanma /Justin Vijungco (ADE) 8-6
3. Nick Majewski/Frank Vega (MER) def. Ryan Villarruel/Sebastian Zapata (ADE) 8-6
Singles
1. Steven Francis (MER) vs. U. Litvinchuk (ADE) 6-0, 4-2 (unfinished)
2. Mikhail Belov (MER) vs. Sander Brenner (ADE) 2-6, 3-4 (unfinished)
3. Miguel Belfort (MER) vs. Chiwete Njokanma (ADE) 3-6, 4-1 (unfinished)
4. Vince Bellino (MER) def. Sebastian Zepata (ADE) 6-2, 6-2
5. Frank Vega (MER) def. Justin Vijungco (ADE) 6-3, 6-1
6. Ryan Villarruel (ADE) def. Nick Majewski (MER) 6-3, 6-1
Up Next
Merrimack advances to take on either No. 2 NYIT or No. 7 UDC tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. for a chance to advance to the Round of 16 in Surprise, Ariz.
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