Men's Tennis Drops 5-4 Decision at Franklin Pierce

Men's Tennis Drops 5-4 Decision at Franklin Pierce

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RINDGE, N.H. – The Merrimack College men's tennis team travelled to Franklin Pierce University on Saturday afternoon and suffered a 5-4 defeat against the Ravens in Northeast-10 Conference play, the Warriors' first conference defeat of the 2017 season.

The Basics
 Score: Franklin Pierce  5, Merrimack 4
Records: Merrimack (6-7, 4-1 NE10) | Franklin Pierce (3-11, 2-4 NE10)
Location: Rindge, N.H.

How It Happened (Doubles)

  • No. 1 – The regionally ranked tandem of senior Nick Majewski (Brewster, Mass.) and junior Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) suffered an 8-4 loss at the first flight, handing the hosts a 1-0 advantage in the match
  • No. 2 – The Warriors got the point right back as junior Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) and freshman Alex Fedorov (Guilderland, N.Y.) continued their torrid pace with an 8-4 triumph at the second flight, leaving it to third doubles to decide the deadlock
  • No. 3 – A back-and-forth match ensued in the final doubles tilt, with the duo of senior Tayyab Sheikh (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Alex Slobin (Fairfield, Conn.) extending the match to 14 games before suffering an 8-6 defeat to the Ravens

How It Happened (Singles)

  • No. 1 – Belov went the distance at first singles, winning the second set by a 6-4 margin to force a winner-take-all third frame. Franklin Pierce's James Bisazza equaled what he did in the opener, downing Belov by a 6-3 final
  • No. 2 – Vega started a run of Merrimack singles wins with a straight-sets win at the second flight. Merrimack's Peruvian needed all 12 games, but won both frames by 7-5 margins
  • No. 3 – Majewski proved victorious at third singles, collecting Merrimack's third point of the afternoon
  • No. 4 – After losing the opener in a first-set tiebreak (7-4), Fedorov continued his stretch of dominance at fourth singles by winning the final two frames, 6-2 and 6-3, to move the Warriors within one point of taking the match
  • No. 5 – Slobin suffered a straight-sets loss at the fifth flight, as Franklin Pierce equaled Merrimack's output at four-all
  • No. 6 – Sheikh lost the first set in a breaker, 7-5, but rallied in the middle frame to force a third set, 6-4. The Ravens' Matthew Toombs used nine games to dispatch Sheikh, 6-3, and clinched the victory

Results
 Doubles
 1. James Bisazza / Andrew Schadt (FPU) def. Mikhail Belov / Nick Majewski (MER) 8-4
2. Frank Vega / Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Yuval Barak/ Marcus Lawrence (FPU) 8-4
3. Olivier Viel / Matthew Toombs (FPU) def. Alex Slobin / Tayyab Shiekh (MER) 8-6
Singles
1. James Bisazza (FPU) def. Mikhail Belov (MER) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
2. Frank Vega (MER) def. Yuval Barak (FPU) 7-5, 7-5
3. Nick Majewski (MER) def. Andrew Schadt (FPU) 7-6 (7-5)
4. Alex Fedorov (MER) def. Marcus Lawrence (FPU) 6-7 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3
5. Olivier Viel (FPU) def. Alex Slobin (MER) 6-4, 7-5
6. Matthew Toombs (FPU) def. Tayyab Sheikh (MER) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3

Up Next
 The Navy and Gold play in their first home outdoor match on Sunday morning when the Warriors host Saint Michael's at 10 a.m. from North Andover High School.   

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

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