Men's Tennis Picks Up Second League Win with 6-3 Triumph vs. Le Moyne Saturday

3/25/2017 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. – Behind four singles wins including three-set victories for reigning Northeast-10 Conference award winners in junior Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) and freshman Alex Fedorov (Guilderland, N.Y.), the Merrimack College men's tennis team improved to 2-0 in NE10 play on Saturday night with a 6-3 win over Le Moyne College from the Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly, Mass.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 6, Le Moyne 3
Records: Merrimack (3-5, 2-0 NE10) | Le Moyne (5-4, 2-2 NE10)
Location: Bass River Tennis Club | Beverly, Mass.

How It Happened (Doubles)

• No. 1 – The fifth-ranking doubles pair in the East Region, Belov and senior Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) recorded their second straight win and fifth in their last seven matches with an 8-5 victory over Le Moyne's 10^th-ranked Philip Blythe and Hallam Doney. It took 13 games to finish the contest, and broke a 1-1 deadlock to give the Navy and Gold a lead entering singles
• No. 2 – Second doubles marked the first contest of the night to finish, as junior Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and Fedorov dispatched their opposition with ease, 8-3
• No. 3 – Senior James Hook (Lynnfield, Mass.) made his conference debut at third doubles, as Merrimack switched up their doubles pairings for the first time this spring. Hook played with sophomore Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.), but the combination lost by an 8-4 final

How It Happened (Singles)

• No. 1 – For the third time in his last five singles matches, Belov defeated a regionally ranked opponent. Merrimack's No. 1 performer needed three sets to defeat Blythe – the 10^th-ranked singles player in the region – after taking the opener by two games, 6-4. Blythe rallied to tie the contest at one-all  before Belov blanked his adversary in the final frame, 6-0
• No. 2 – Vega moved the Warriors within one point of the match with a straight-set win at the second flight, 6-3 and 7-5. It marked his second straight two-set win
• No. 3 – Majewski suffered a three-set defeat at third singles against Doney, winning the second set by three games to tie the match before falling in the final frame
• No. 4 – Fedorov saw his match go the distance, but clinched the win for the Warriors with the first three-set win of his career. The rookie won the first and third sets by 6-2 margins to take the victory for the Warriors
• No. 5 – Slobin played up at the fifth flight for the first time this season, but suffered a two-set loss to Jason Barton
• No. 6 – Senior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) played at the sixth flight on Saturday, and picked up his first singles win of the season by sweeping Steven Procopio, 6-4 and 6-1

Results
Doubles
1. Nick Majewski/Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Philip Blythe Hallam Doney (LEM) 8-5
2. Alex Fedorov/Frank Vega (MER) def. Josh Sagaille/Jason Barton (LEM) 8-3
3. James Gayvert/ Tyler Underwood (LEM) def. James Hook/Alex Slobin (MER) 8-4

Singles
1. Mikhail Belov (MER) def. Philip Blythe (LEM) 6-4, 6-7, 6-0
2. Frank Vega (MER) def. James Gayvert (LEM) 6-3, 7-5
3. Hallam Doney (LEM) def. Nick Majewski (MER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
4. Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Josh Sagaille (LEM) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
5. Jason Barton (LEM) def. Alex Slobin (MER) 6-1, 6-4
6. Tayyab Sheikh (MER) def. Steven Procopio (LEM) 6-4, 6-1

Up Next
The Warriors play a non-conference match tomorrow as the Navy and Gold host Roberts Wesleyan at 3:30 p.m. from the Northeast Tennis Center in Middleton, Mass.   

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