Majewski's Comeback Effort at Third Singles Gives Men's Tennis 5-4 Win vs. Bentley
BRADFORD, Mass. – Deadlocked at four-all with just one singles match left to play, senior captain Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) of the Merrimack College men's tennis team rallied after losing the first set to win the final two frames, 7-5 and 7-5, and clinched a 5-4 win for the Warriors over Bentley University in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both programs. The match was played indoors at the Cedardale Athletic Club in Bradford, Mass.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 5, Bentley 4
Records: Merrimack (1-1, 1-0 NE10) | Bentley (2-3, 0-1 NE10)
Location: Bradford, Mass. | Cedardale Athletic Club
How It Happened (Doubles)
- No. 1 – After facing a 1-0 deficit following third doubles, Merrimack won at both No. 1 and No. 2 to take a 2-1 lead into singles. Junior Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) and Majewski paired at the top flight, taking down Bentley's top option, 8-6
- No. 2 – Junior Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) combined with freshman Alex Fedorov (Guilderland, N.Y.) – who made his NE10 debut on Saturday – to prevail in 13 games in the second flight, 8-5, over the Falcons' Chase Rosa and Dylan Granat
- No. 3 – Senior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) trotted out at third doubles, falling by an 8-2 final against Bentley's third option
How It Happened (Singles)
- No. 1 – After beginning the season with a win at first singles over Division I UConn's top option, Belov suffered a straight-sets defeat against Bentley's Brendan McCarthy, 6-2 and 6-2
- No. 2 – Coming off a sophomore season that ended with a NE10 All-Conference First Team selection at the third flight, Vega started conference play up one option and put away George Samander easily, 6-1 and 6-2
- No. 3 – The match came down to the lone singles contest that went the distance. Each set went 12 games, with Granat taking the opener by two, 7-5. Majewski equaled his opposition by squaring the duel at 1-1 following a 7-5 win. The fourth-year Warrior clinched the match with another 7-5 triumph in the final set
- No. 4 – Fedorov made a stellar NE10 singles debut as well, losing only six combined games in a straight-sets victory over Rose (6-3, 6-3), to move Merrimack within one point of winning the match
- No. 5 – Bentley's depth prevailed at the bottom two flights. Sheikh started conference play at the fifth sport, and suffered a 6-3 setback in the first set before winning one more game in the second frame (6-4)
- No. 6 – Slobin debuted at sixth singles, where he won four matches as a freshman. The Falcons' Kendall Au dispatched the second-year Warrior, 6-3 and 6-3
Results
Doubles
1. Nick Majewski/Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Brendan McCarthy / George Samander (BEN) 8-6
2. Alex Fedorov/Frank Vega (MER) def. Chase Rosa / Dylan Granat (BEN) 8-5
3. Michael Fuca / Brett Gilman (BEN) def. Tayyab Sheikh / Alex Slobin (MER) 8-2
Singles
1. Brendan McCarthy (BEN) def. Mikhail Belov (MER) 6-2, 6-2
2. Frank Vega (MER) def. George Samander (BEN) 6-1, 6-2
3. Nick Majewski (MER) def. Dylan Granat (BEN) 5-7, 7-5, 7-5
4. Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Chase Rosa (BEN) 6-3, 6-3
5. Michael Fuca (BEN) def. Tayyab Sheikh (MER) 6-3, 6-4
6. Kendall Au (BEN) def. Alex Slobin (MER) 6-3, 6-3
Up Next
The Warriors will go two weeks without a match before travelling to New London, Conn. to face Connecticut College at 11 a.m. in non-conference action on March 11.
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