Men's Tennis Storms Past Saint Michael's, 9-0
Links: Box Score
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Merrimack College men's tennis team won its spring Northeast-10 Conference opener, 9-0, against Saint Michael's College on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors picked up their second league win of the year after taking down Le Moyne in the fall.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 9, Saint Michael's 0
Records: Merrimack (3-1, 2-0 NE-10) | Saint Michael's (0-1, 0-1 NE-10)
Location: The EDGE| South Burlington, Vt.
How It Happened
In their first conference match of the spring, the Warriors surged forward to a 3-0 advantage after doubles play. Sophomore Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) and redshirt-freshman Laurence Akwei (Johannesburg, South Africa) won their first match as a pairing at first doubles, 8-5.
Captains Miguel Belfort (Caracas, Venezuela) and Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) followed suit with an 8-2 victory at No. 2, while sophomore Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and freshman Tyler Clontz (Naples, Fla) wrapped up the doubles sweep with a 8-3 triumph at third doubles.
All six spots of Merrimack's singles lineups featured players making their debuts. Majewski and Vega played a first and second singles, respectively, for the first time in their careers, winning by identical set scores (6-2, 6-0). After playing at No. 5 on Friday, Akwei won at No. 3, 6-0 and 6-1.
Freshman Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) played at fourth singles for the first time ever, taking his match by a 6-2, 6-2 final. Junior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) made his spring debut at fifth singles, and Clontz stepped in at No. 6 after only competing in doubles play against NYIT.
Results
Doubles
1. Laurence Akwei / Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Ben Lambert / Hayden Steward (STM) 8-5
2. Miguel Belfort / Nick Majewski (MER) def. Sam Laves / Dan Foley (STM) 8-2
3. Frank Vega / Tyler Clontz (MER) def. Charlie Merry / Forrest Owen (STM) 8-3
Singles
1. Nick Majewski (MER) def. Ben Lambert (STM) 6-2, 6-0
2. Frank Vega (MER) def. Charlie Merry (STM) 6-2, 6-0
3. Laurence Akwei (MER) def. Sam Laves (STM) 6-0, 6-1
4. Alex Slobin (MER) def. Hayden Steward (STM) 6-2, 6-2
5. Tayyab Sheikh (MER) def. Patrick Dietz (STM) 6-3, 7-5
6. Tyler Clontz (MER)) def. Sam Costes (STM) 6-2, 6-1
Up Next
The Warriors return to action on Friday, March 12, when Merrimack travels to regionally-ranked Queens College.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
