Doubles Momentum Carries Men's Tennis to 8-1 Win over Stonehill Wednesday
Links: Box Score
TEWKSBURY, Mass. – Starting the day with doubles comebacks at the first and third flights, the Merrimack College men's tennis program used those rallies to fuel a 8-1 victory on Wednesday over the Stonehill College Skyhawks from the indoor facility at Trull Brook Golf & Tennis in Tewksbury, Mass. The Warriors improved to a perfect 3-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play while the Skyhawks fell to 1-1.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 8, Stonehill 1
Records: Merrimack (5-5, 3-0 NE10) | Stonehill (3-5, 1-1 NE10)
Location: Trull Brook Golf & Tennis | Tewksbury, Mass.
How It Happened (Doubles)
- No. 1 – Facing a 4-0 deficit at first doubles, the fifth-ranked tandem in the East Region of senior Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) and junior Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) rallied back to take the contest by a 9-7 final, doing so in impressive fashion. Facing a 7-6 deficit, Belov won four straight points to square the match before the Warriors secured a break and prevailed in the 16th game
- No. 2 – Winning their fourth straight match, junior Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and freshman Alex Fedorov (Guilderland, N.Y.) made quick work of their opposition at the second flight, dispatching the Skyhawks by an 8-2 margin
- No. 3 – Equaling the excitement of first doubles, senior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) reunited at No. 3 and pulled out their second win of the season. Holding a 7-6 lead and serving for the match, the duo dropped the game, but bounced back to square the match at eight-all and forced a tiebreak. Up by two in the breaker, Slobin attacked the net and drove a winner into the court to secure the doubles sweep
How It Happened (Singles)
- No. 1 – Merrimack's only downfall of the day occurred at first singles, where Belov forced a third set after a 6-3 victory in the middle frame. Stonehill's Thomas Bellio, however, prevailed in an extended final frame, winning by an 11-9 final
- No. 2 – Vega continued his torrid pace by blanking his opposition at second singles, 6-0 and 6-0, to increase his singles winning streak to four matches
- No. 3 – Majewski nearly match his junior counterpart at No. 3, recording a shutout in the first set while only conceding one game in the second (6-0, 6-1)
- No. 4 – Fedorov started a streak of three consecutive Warriors' sweeps at singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win at fourth singles over Stonehill's Tom Buckley. The two-time reigning NE10 Rookie of the Week has now won three straight singles matches
- No. 5 – Slobin posted his first two-win day of the season on Wednesday, following up his doubles comeback with a three-set triumph. He won the first set, 6-4, before edging out Jeffrey Gagnon in the final frame, 10-7
- No. 6 – Sheikh matched his doubles partner with a three-set win as well, recording his third straight victory at No. 6 (4-6, 6-1, 7-5)
Results
Doubles
1. Mikhail Belov / Nick Majewski (MER) def. Thomas Bellio / Nikolay Lisichenok (STO) 9-7
2. Frank Vega / Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Tom Buckley / Manu Ravichandrakumar (STO) 8-2
3. Alex Slobin / Tayyab Sheikh (MER) def. Jeffrey Gagnon / Dimitri Vlassov (STO) 9-8 (7-4)
Singles
1. Thomas Bellio (STO) def. Mikhail Belov (MER) 7-5, 3-6, 11-9
2. Frank Vega (MER) def. Nikolay Lisichenok (STO) 6-0, 6-0
3. Nick Majewski (MER) def. Manu Ravichandrakumar (STO) 6-0, 6-1
4. Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Tom Buckley (STO) 6-1, 6-1
5. Alex Slobin (MER) def. Jeffrey Gagnon (STO) 6-4, 3-6, 10-7
6. Tayyab Sheikh (MER) def. Aaron Diamond (STO) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
Up Next
Merrimack faces a showdown for first place in the NE10 when the Warriors travel to Garden City, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon for a 12 p.m. tilt with Adelphi University. The Panthers upset the Warriors last season in the semifinals of the NE10 Championship.
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