Women's Tennis Suffers 6-3 Defeat vs. Stonehill

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. –The Merrimack College women's tennis program won three times on the singles ladder to cut into the visiting Stonehill Skyhawks' 3-0 doubles advantage, but the Northeast-10 Conference rival took the three points it needed to win, 6-3, on Wednesday afternoon from North Andover High School.  

The Basics
Score: Stonehill 6, Merrimack 3
Records: Merrimack (6-5, 6-5 NE10) | Stonehill (9-0, 8-0 NE10)
Location: North Andover, Mass. | North Andover High School

NE10 Postseason Outlook
The top-six programs qualify for the Northeast-10 Championship, with the top-two seeds earning byes to the semifinals while the No. 3-4 seeded hosts the No. 5-6 seeds in quarterfinal action. The NE10 Championship begins on Wednesday, Oct. 25. A win on Friday against Saint Anselm combined with two Bentley loses over the remainder of the regular season will clinch a playoff spot for the Warriors.

1) Stonehill (8-0, 7-0)
2) Adelphi (10-1, 9-1) H2H over Assumption
3) Assumption (11-1, 9-1)
4) Le Moyne (9-2, 7-2)
5) SNHU (6-3, 6-3)
6) Bentley (8-3, 5-3)
7) Merrimack (6-5, 6-5)
8) Saint Anselm (5-6, 4-6)
9) New Haven (5-8, 4-7)
10) Saint Michael's (4-9, 3-8)
12) Franklin Pierce (1-11, 1-8)
13) AIC (1-10, 1-9)
13) Saint Rose (0-10, 0-11)

Results
Doubles

1. Annelise Howick/Alexandra Vo (STO) def. Mana Seifaei/Danielle Dunn (MERW) 8-4 2. Victoria Barbetta/Kate Cunningham (STO) def. Cassie Restrepo/Mia Briggs (MERW) 8-4 3. Colleen O'Donnell/Bethany Hammond (STO) def. Mackenzie Blair/Lauren Persson (MERW) 8-3

Singles

1. Lauren Persson (MERW) def. Victoria Barbetta (STO) 6-0, 6-4

2. Alexandra Vo (STO) def. Mana Seifaei (MERW) 6-3, 6-0

3. Danielle Dunn (MERW) def. Nicole Downey (STO) 6-4, 1-6, 10-8

4. Cassie Restrepo (MERW) def. Kate Cunningham (STO) 7-6, 6-1

5. Colleen O'Donnell (STO) def. Mia Briggs (MERW) 6-4, 6-1

6. Emma Prinos (STO) def. Mackenzie Blair (MERW) 6-1, 6-3

Rapid Recap (Doubles)

• Stonehill gathered momentum by winning all three doubles flights. Merrimack utilized the pairing of junior Mana Seifaei (North York, Ontario) and senior Danielle Dunn (Middleton, Mass.) at No. 1, but the duo suffered an 8-4 loss. The combination of sophomore Mia Briggs (York, Maine) and freshman Cassie Restrepo (Miami, Fla.) suffered the same fate at No. 2
• The third flight proved to be another Stonehill win, with senior Mackenzie Blair (Thomaston, Conn.) and junior Lauren Persson (Barnstable, Mass.) dropping an 8-3 match

Rapid Recap (Singles)

• Merrimack proved it could play with the NE10 leaders during singles. Persson trotted out at No. 1 and blanked her opponent in the opener before a 6-4 match-clinching win in the second set
• Restrepo continued her recent hot streak during singles play, also winning in straight sets (7-6, 6-1). The rookie has now won four straight singles matches and five of the last six
• The closest match of the day came at third singles, where Dunn rallied from a second-set loss to win a tiebreaker, 10-8, to collect Merrimack's third and final point

Up Next
Merrimack hosts Saint Anselm on Senior Day from North Andover High School on Friday at 3 p.m. The Warriors will honor Blair, Dunn and senior Abbey Bryant (North Brookfield, Mass.) in a pre-match ceremony as part of the festivities.