Men's Tennis Hands Adelphi First NE10 Loss, Moves into First Place with 6-3 Win Saturday
OCEANSIDE, N.Y. – The Merrimack College men's tennis team extended its season-long winning streak to four games, and snapped Adelphi University's four-match winning streak in the process with a 6-3 win on Saturday afternoon from the Set Point Tennis Center. The Warriors handed the Panthers their first Northeast-10 Conference loss of the season, moving into first place with a 4-0 league mark and 6-5 record overall.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 6, Adelphi 3
Records: Merrimack (6-5, 4-0 NE10) | Adelphi (6-3, 4-1 NE10)
Location: Set Point Tennis Center | Oceanside, N.Y.
Order of Finish: Doubles: 1,2,3 | Singles: 1,3,4,2,5,6
How It Happened (Doubles)
- No. 1 – The first doubles match of the day to finish, the regionally ranked tandem of senior captain Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) and junior Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) recorded their fifth straight win by besting Adelphi's top-flight option, 8-5. The Warriors held a 5-4 lead, and were able to break Adelphi in the 10th game to take a two-point lead and never looked back
- No. 2 – One of the most contentious matches of the day, the duo of junior Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and freshman Alex Fedorov (Guilderland, N.Y.) faced a 6-2 deficit through eight games before winning the final six games of the contest to turn a four-game deficit into an 8-6 win and guaranteed the Warriors a lead entering singles
- No. 3 – Coming off a win on Wednesday against Stonehill, senior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) suffered an 8-3 setback at the final flight
How It Happened (Singles)
- No. 1 – Cannavera – the two-time NE10 Player of the Year – got one point back for the Panthers with a straight-sets win over Belov
- No. 2 – The match-clincher came at second singles, where Vega went toe-to-toe with the Panthers' Litvinchuk. Merrimack's third-year performer won in two sets, which each frame lasting 10 games in back-and-forth fashion (6-4, 6-4)
- No. 3 – Majewski avenged his doubles partner by immediately getting a point back for the Warriors, leading coast-to-coast in the second flight en route to a 6-2, 6-4 straight-sets victory
- No. 4 – After grinding out a first-set victory (6-4), Fedorov came out in his second frame and rolled his opponent in seven games, 6-1, to give Merrimack its fourth point and move within one of winning the match
- No. 5 – Adelphi's third and final point of the day came at the fifth flight, with Slobin suffering a two-set loss
- No. 6 – Sheikh rattled off his fourth straight victory at the sixth flight, dispatching his opposition in the first set, 6-1, before collecting a 6-4 win in the second frame to conclude the match
Results
Doubles
1. Mikhail Belov / Nick Majewski (MER) def. Matteo Cannavera / Uladzislau Litvinchuk (ADE) 8-5
2. Frank Vega / Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Roey Heymann / Sabin Adrian Saveluc (ADE) 8-6
3. David Robres de Veciana / Connor Dove (ADE) def. Alex Slobin / Tayyab Shiekh (MER) 8-3
Singles
1. Matteo Cannavera (ADE) def. Mikhail Belov (MER) 6-2, 6-2
2. Frank Vega (MER) def. Uladzislau Litvinchuk (ADE) 6-4, 6-4
3. Nick Majewski (MER) def. Roey Heymann (ADE) 6-2, 6-4
4. Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Sabin Adrian Saveluc (ADE) 6-4, 6-1
5. David Robres de Veciana (ADE) def. Alex Slobin (MER) 6-4, 6-1
6. Tayyab Sheikh (MER) def. Connor Dove (ADE) 6-1, 6-4
Up Next
The Warriors will stay in The Empire State overnight and take on New York University at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning in non-league action.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
