Men's Tennis Slips Up at SNHU, 5-4
MANCHESTER, N.H. – In a matchup of the Northeast-10 Conference's top-two programs, the Merrimack College men's tennis team faltered on Wednesday afternoon, 5-4, against the Southern New Hampshire Penmen from the SNHU Tennis Courts. The Warriors took a 2-1 lead into singles play, but saw the Penmen win four of six singles matches to comeback in the match.
The Basics
Score: Southern N.H. 5, Merrimack 4
Records: Merrimack (8-8, 7-1 NE-10) | Southern N.H. (12-7, 10-0 NE-10)
Location: SNHU Tennis Courts | Manchester, N.H.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-six teams advance to the NE-10 Championship, with the top-two finishers securing first-round byes until the semifinals. SNHU clinched the top seed in next week's postseason tournament, while Merrimack will clinch the second seed with a victory Friday against Assumption.
1) Southern New Hampshire 10-0
2) Merrimack 7-1
3) Adelphi 7-2
4) Bentley 6-3
5) Le Moyne 6-4
6) Stonehill 5-4
7) Assumption 4-4
8) Saint Anselm 2-7
9) Franklin Pierce 2-7
10) Saint Michael's 1-8
11) American Int'l 0-9
How It Happened
The matchup pitting two regionally ranked programs, with the Penmen arriving at No. 5 in the regional poll followed by the Warriors at No. 6.
Merrimack took a 2-1 lead into singles following a pair of doubles victories. Senior captain Miguel Belfort (Caracas, Venezuela) and Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) won at first doubles, 8-6, knocking off the Penmen's top pairing. Sophomore Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) and junior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) debuted together, collecting a crucial 8-3 victory at third doubles to provide the Navy and Gold a lead entering singles.
Merrimack triumphed at first and third singles. Belov prevailed at No. 1, 6-2 and 6-2, for his second victory in as many days, handing Ricardo Marreiros his first league loss of the season. SNHU's top top option was also the seventh-ranked player in the region. Vega improved his NE-10 singles record to 6-0 with a straight-set victory at No. 3.
The match came down to sixth singles. Freshman Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) won the opening set, 6-4, but Jeremy Reichentahl of the Penmen rebounded to win the final two sets and secured the victory.
Results
Doubles
1. Miguel Belfort / Frank Vega (MER) def. Miguel Marreiros / Tiago Fernandes (SNHU) 8-6
2. Ricardo Marreiros / Xavier Aubron (SNHU) def. Nick Majewski / Tyler Clontz (MER) 8-1
3. Tayyab Sheikh / Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Max Georgeff / Sebastian Ramirez (SNHU) 8-3
Singles
1. Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Ricardo Marreiros (SNHU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Miguel Marreiros (SNHU) def. Nick Majewski (MER) 6-3, 6-1
3. Frank Vega (MER) def. Xavier Aubron (SNHU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Tiago Fernandes (SNHU) def. Miguel Belfort (MER) 6-4, 6-0
5. Sebastian Ramirez (SNHU) def. Tyler Clontz (MER) 6-2, 6-0
6. Jeremy Reichentahl (SNHU) def. Alex Slobin (MER) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Up Next
The Warriors honor Senior Day on Friday afternoon when Merrimack hosts Assumption at 2 p.m. from North Andover High School.
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