Men's Tennis Falters at UConn Saturday, 6-1
Links: Results
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Junior Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) prevailed at first singles as the Merrimack College men's tennis program opened the spring season with a 6-1 defeat against the University of Connecticut from the East Hartford Tennis Club on Saturday night. The match marked the debut of interim head coach Alex Loyer
The Basics
Score: Connecticut 6, Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (0-1) | Connecticut (2-3)
Location: East Hartford Tennis Club | East Hartford, Conn.
How It Happened (Doubles)
- No. 1 – Playing under Division I rules that gives the winning team one double point towards the overall total, the Warriors faltered at first and second doubles to send the match into singles. Belov and senior captain Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) battled to win three games before falling to the Huskies' top flight
- No. 2 – Junior Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and freshman Alex Fedorov (Guilderland, N.Y.) debuted as a pairing, collecting two games in a 6-2 contest against Arnaud Valentin and Jacob Appleton
- No. 3 – Senior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) trotted out at the third flight, but their match did not finish once the Huskies clinched the doubles point
How It Happened (Singles)
- No. 1 – A Northeast-10 All-Conference Third Team honoree at first singles as a sophomore, Belov picked up his first dual-match victory of the season against UConn's Parker Goldstein. Belov edged his Division I foe, 7-5, in the opening frame before a dominant 6-1 win to clinch the straight-set triumph
- No. 2 – Vega served as Merrimack's second-flight option, taking his first set to a tiebreak before Valentin topped the third-year Warrior by a 7-6 final. Valentin went on to win the match in two sets
- No. 3 – Majewski won three games in his opening set and four in the second, but his opposition prevailed by a 6-3, 6-4 final
- No. 4 – After debuting in tournament play in the fall, Fedorov started his rookie season at No. 4 singles. Merrimack's first-year member faltered in two sets (6-3, 6-2)
- No. 5 – Fifth singles marked the first match to finish as Slobin transition from third doubles to the fifth flight. Slobin played primarilly at No. 6 last season
- No. 6 – Senior James Hook (Lynnfield, Mass.) played in his first-ever singles duel match against the Huskies after joining the Warriors midway through the fall season. UConn's Jonathan Edwards prevailed, 6-2 and 6-0
Results
Singles
1. Mikhail Belov (MC) def. Parker Goldstein (UCONN) 7-5, 6-1
2. Arnaud Valentin (UCONN) def. Frank Vega (MC) 7-6 (5-0), 6-3
3. Justin Warren (UCONN) def. Nick Majewski (MC) 6-3, 6-4
4. Jacob Appleton (UCONN) def. Alex Fedorov (MC) 6-3, 6-2
5. Hank Hill (UCONN) def. Alex Slobin (MC) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jonathan Edwards (UCONN) def. James Hook (MC) 6-2, 6-0
Up Next
The Navy and Gold will not play again until the end of the month, when the Warriors will take on Bentley University on Saturday, Feb. 25, to open NE10 play at the Cedardale Athletic Club in Bradford, Mass.
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