Men’s Tennis Drops Regular Season Finale at SNHU, 7-2; Warriors Finish Second in NE10

Links: Box Score  

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Merrimack College men's tennis program took a 2-1 lead into the singles portion of Saturday's match against Southern New Hampshire, but the Penmen won all six singles matches to claim a 7-2 victory from the Penmen Stadium Tennis Courts. Both programs entered Saturday's contest undefeated in Northeast-10 Conference play (8-0). Merrimack will now be the second seed in next week's NE10 Championship and host a semifinal match against either Le Moyne or Stonehill this Thursday.

The Basics
Score: SNHU 7, Merrimack 2
Records: Merrimack (13-8, 8-1 NE10) | SNHU (12-6, 9-0 NE10)
Location: Penmen Stadium Tennis Courts | Manchester, N.H.

Results
Doubles

1. Mikhail Belov/Frank Vega (MERM) def. Xavier Aubron/Bas Van Biezen (SNH) 8-5 2. Denis Davydov/Alex Fedorov (MERM) def. Ricardo Marreiros/Miguel Marreiros (SNH) 8-2 3. Tiago Fernandes/Jeremy Reichentahl (SNH) def. Tyler Clontz/Paul Weidinger (MERM) 8-1

Singles

1. Tiago Fernandes (SNH) def. Mikhail Belov (MERM) 6-3, 6-2 2. Ricardo Marreiros (SNH) def. Denis Davydov (MERM) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 3. Miguel Marreiros (SNH) def. Alex Fedorov (MERM) 6-4, 6-3 4. Xavier Aubron (SNH) def. Frank Vega (MERM) 0-0, retired 5. Bas Van Biezen (SNH) def. Tyler Clontz (MERM) 6-2, 6-2 6. Jeremy Reichentahl (SNH) def. Paul Weidinger (MERM) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

2018 NE10 Championship
The following six programs have qualified for the NE10 Championship. Merrimack awaits either third-seeded Le Moyne or sixth-seeded Stonehill in the NE10 Semifinals, which will be played on Thursday at 2 p.m. at North Andover High School

Tuesday, April 17^th   
First Round ­
Match 1: #6 Stonehill at #3 Le Moyne (Syracuse University campus), 2:00 pm *
Match 2: #5 Bentley at #4 Franklin Pierce, 2:00 pm *
Thursday, April 19^th  
Semifinals 
Match 3: Winner of Match 1 at #2 Merrimack, 2:00 pm *
Match 4: Winner of Match 2 at #1 Southern New Hampshire, 2:00 pm *
Saturday, April 21^st    
Championship ­ at Highest Remaining Seed
Match 5: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner ­ 1:00 p.m. at Higher Seed

Rapid Recap

• The duo of seniors Mikhail Belov and Frank Vega maintained their undefeated NE10 record with an 8-5 win at first doubles. The pair of junior Alex Fedorov and sophomore Denis Davydov notched an 8-2 win at the second flight, guaranteeing a Merrimack lead entering singles
• The closest singles matches came at the second and sixth flights. Davydov won his first set (6-1) before suffering a pair of 6-4 defeats in the final two frames      
• Sophomore Paul Weidinger mirrored his counterpart with a first-set victory, 7-5, at No. 6. The first-year Warrior dropped his next two frames, however, as SNHU won the match
• The first, third and fifth flights all went in favor of the hosts in two sets

Notes and Notables

• With the win at first doubles, Belov moved within one victory of becoming the seventh Warrior ever with 100 career wins

Up Next:
Merrimack will host the NE10 Semifinals this upcoming Thursday against either No. 3 Le Moyne or No. 6 Stonehill. Merrimack defeated both potential counterparts in the regular season.